


Putting His Best Foot Forward

by DonAnsen



Category: Sing (2016)
Genre: Biphobia, Eventual Romance, Friendship/Love, Homophobia, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Self-Esteem Issues, Self-Worth Issues, Slut Shaming, Some minor violence, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2019-11-06 13:24:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 37,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17940524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DonAnsen/pseuds/DonAnsen
Summary: Buster Moon has a genius idea! Everyone at the theatre can sing, so naturally they should all also be able to dance, right? As classes get underway it's clear that Johnny will need more help from Gunter than the others. The extra time spent helps draw them closer, but with Johnny's troubled home life and Gunter having his own issues, are they really the right ones to help each other?





	1. An Idea

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm submitting my first fanwork for this fandom about two years too late. My bad. In all honesty I hadn't even watched the film until a month ago, and I was completely captured by it. I hope there are still enough of you around to get some enjoyment out of this. I have another work planned, but it's proving to be quite the monster, being a series of seven interlinking stories surrounding each main character, plus another for one more character, and one last story to tie all of it up. It's taking a lot of time to set up, that's for sure.
> 
> In the meantime I wanted to write something a little less detailed, and I wanted to explore something that, from what I can gather, is a bit of a rarepair. I'm really enjoying writing this and I hope to keep up with updates once a week if I can, but if I'm unable to then you'll have to please forgive me. I work two jobs and only have so much spare time. Plus, there's the aforementioned monster of a series to plan, too.
> 
> Also as a preface, I'm going to be playing fast and loose with Gunter's accent. In the movie he doesn't seem to pronounce all w's as v's or all th's a z's, so I won't be doing it for every word here either. To be honest, I find it makes it harder to read anyway.
> 
> Keep note of the tags if it's something you'd rather not see. Critique is highly encouraged too, I don't receive nearly enough and I'd love to be able to improve. And with all that said, I hope you enjoy the read. Thanks!

“You wha’?!”

“You can’t be serious!”

“You gotta be kiddin’ me, Moon!”

Buster simply smiled patiently as all three animals before him erupted into heated protest against his newest idea. Granted, it was a little out of the blue, suggesting that everyone take dance classes with Gunter and Rosita, but it was to give everyone a new skill as well as something else to offer the theatre. It had been two years since they all first set foot on his stage and not a day went by that he thanked the moon and stars that he still had them, at least for now.

No, this was a good idea and he was going to stick by it, too, and they would understand why it was such a good idea as soon as they calmed down.

“You really want us jigglin’ around with those pork chops?!” was perhaps the most amusing and insulting of Mike’s comments.

“Moon, you’re gonna get someone killed!” Ash was perhaps the most dramatic of the three.

“I… I really don’ think I’d be able to… to move like that,” Johnny sighed, an almost wistful note in his otherwise nerve-laced voice.

Well, perhaps Buster could get at least one other animal on his side with just a small boost in confidence. And since he’d already convinced Meena of the idea earlier, two animals agreeing to take part would surely soon lead to four.

When the protests seemed to die down a little Buster cleared his throat to fully put a stop to them. “As I was saying, I think this could be a great idea to increase the theatre’s repertoire of shows. Just imagine,” he said dramatically, slowly waving his hands in an arc towards the sky as though painting a rainbow, “not two, but ****six****  dancers! Now Meena, she’s clearly shown that she has the moves when her courage really gets her going, only needing just a _little_  refinement to make sure she doesn’t bring down the stage again. It was perfect for her first performance, sure, but I really don’t think Nana would be happy paying for a new stage after every show.”

There were murmurs of agreement, of course everyone agreed Meena had performed spectacularly but she certainly could stand to be a little less… destructive.

“And Johnny, Johnny my boy, when you step away from that piano and give your all into a vocal performance you can add some moves, really bring some flair to the show! You’ve got the makings of a real showman!”

“I-I don’ know about that, Mr. Moon.”

“Sure you do! We’ve seen the way you play, your body is just _aching_  to get away from that piano and move around the stage like you ****own****  it!”

“Well, I guess-”

“Great!” Buster cut in, not giving Johnny the slightest chance of changing his mind. “And Ash-”

“Moon, I’m serious, I could do some real damage,” Ash said, pointing behind her to her quills. “And I’m not just talking about actually performing, what if I hurt someone in practice?”

“Hmm… well it is true that your emotions seem to take over when you perform, and it can tend to get… prickly.” Ash groaned at the pun but Buster continued. “But if you’re just focusing on dancing, not singing, perhaps you can try to keep them in check? We can start you off with music you have no emotional connection to and slowly build you up from there.”

“No, I am not dancing to that cheesy pop trash you tried making me sing.”

“Oh come on, it won’t be so bad. And I’ve seen the way you slide across the stage, shredding on that guitar of yours. Surely some part of you is interested in getting some footwork involved?”

“But Moon, I could still injure someone even if my quills aren’t shooting everywhere. What if I bump into someone with my back turned?”

“Then we’ll put you in the back of the room, away from the others.”

Ash gave Buster a dubious look, but he just kept on smiling as though he had somehow managed to solve all the problems she had with it.

“Ugh, fine,” she finally relented.

Buster smiled wider, turning his attention to Mike. So far, so good, but the mouse would probably take the most convincing. Before he could even open his mouth, Mike had already beaten him to it.

“Moon, no offence to ya, but you’re off your rocker if you think I’m gonna be dancing like some schmuck in front of a theatre full of people. What could dancing even offer to my performances? My music choice ain’t exactly fast or energetic enough for it.”

That was a fair point. Mike’s performances were all about entrancing the crowd with his voice, there was no call for dancing. But Buster already knew that, and he’d already created the perfect argument against it.

“One word: duets.”

“Duets?” Mike looked as though he’d said a vile word, though given his choice of language at times anyone would have thought there was no word he considered vile.

Buster simply nodded. “Just imagine,” he said, about to wave his hands for emphasis again.

“No, no, don’t start that again,” Mike interrupted. “You know I work solo. Who would you even pair me up with?”

“Well, Meena of course,” he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Mike fell silent for a moment, contemplating. He had really come to admire the young girl’s voice over his time at the theatre, even more than he had upon first hearing it at their first performance. He couldn’t say the idea wasn’t tempting, their voices could match well given the right song choice, but then he remembered the argument Buster was trying to make.

“How the hell do you expect me to dance with _her_?!” he snapped. “I don’t know if you noticed, Moon, but we ain’t exactly similar in the size department.”

“Well, you wouldn’t be dancing with her in the traditional sense, I don’t expect you to be doing any big dips or lifts.”

Johnny and Ash giggled at the thought, making Mike huff.

“Hey, I’m not that weak! Just, y’know, not strong enough for _that_.”

“But that doesn’t mean you couldn’t both put on a good performance together!” Buster chimed in, trying to keep his argument going. “There have been all sorts of seemingly mismatched pairs of dancers in _and_  outside of the theatre.” He began counting on his fingers. “Harry and Jennifer, Alice and James, Riley and Mandy, Lawrence and Cooper…”

“Alright, alright, enough, I get it. Fine, I’ll give it a shot. But I ain’t making any promises.”

Buster shrugged. “It’s fine, I don’t expect it to necessarily work out for everyone. All I ask is you give it a fair shot.” He then smirked, pulling one last ace out of his sleeve to really seal the deal. “I know Nancy could probably be wooed with a nice tango or salsa…” He added a small wiggle of the eyebrows for emphasis.

Mike blushed slightly. “Yeah… yeah, I guess she would like that.” Nancy had become a great weakness for him over the time they’d been dating. No longer trying to impress her with big flashy gifts like the diamond earrings he first bought her, partly because he no longer had that kind of money and partly because it quickly lost its charm, Mike settled for smaller romantic gestures to show her how much he loved her. And learning to dance for her would certainly be a good one. “Alright Moon, you’ve convinced me. But like Spiky over there said, I ain’t dancin’ to any of that pop garbage.”

“Hey!” Ash said, insulted at the nickname.

“I’m sure there will be none of that,” Buster said, the all-too-innocent smile betraying his belief in the matter. Of course there would be plenty of that.

“Yeah, well, I’m heading over there before I change my mind,” Mike said, turning tail and heading towards Gunter and Rosita’s practice room.

“At least you won’t be dancing with any bears,” Buster smirked.

“Watch it!” Mike said, looking back with a smirk of his own.

Ash and Johnny shared a laugh at the exchange. They still weren’t really sure of the full story behind Mike’s disappearance and reappearance after their first performance, only Mike and Buster knew from what they could gather. They only knew that it had something to do with the bears that showed up when the original theatre was destroyed, and that for whatever reason Buster was able to get away with teasing Mike for it. They still weren’t sure why Mike was so sure they wouldn’t ever show up again, but they figured Buster must also have had something to do with that. Somehow.

Still, any reason for someone to be able to mock the cocky little mouse without receiving backlash was welcome.

“OK guys, I trust I can leave you all to it,” Buster said to the two. “You’ll all do amazingly, I guarantee it. Gunter wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“You got it, Moon,” Ash said, trying to seem more enthusiastic about the situation.

“Sure thing, Mr. Moon,” Johnny nodded.

“Great! I look forward to hearing about how it went.”

With that the koala disappeared up the stairs, leaving Ash and Johnny to make their way to the room they would all be practising in.

“This isn’t gonna go well,” Ash said as they approached the door.

“C’mon, Ash, we’ve at least gotta give it a try.”

They stood in the doorway, seeing Gunter talking to Meena in an overly animated manner. Mike was in the corner, making small talk to Rosita. He’d shed his hat, suit jacket and tie, but it seemed he wasn’t wearing anything more appropriate for dancing. At least, not the kind of dancing they suspected Gunter would be starting them out with. It wasn’t really surprising, the idea had only been sprung on them ten minutes ago. Ash and Johnny were just as ill-equipped.

“Well, good luck,” Johnny said, stepping into the room.

“Yeah, same,” Ash said, reluctantly following.

Johnny hung his jacket on a nearby coat hook and they both joined Rosita and Mike.

“So, are you guys excited?” Rosita beamed. She certainly seemed to be.

“Uhh, kinda?” Johnny said.

“Not really,” Ash added with a shrug.

“Don’t worry, you guys are gonna be great. Gunter’s really good at teaching, he owns a dance studio down the street now! He has a lot of experience, and his enthusiasm is oddly… inspiring.”

Johnny and Ash both made a face. His enthusiasm was unquestionable, but inspiring was going a bit far. Annoying, amusing sometimes, but not inspiring.

“I know, I know, I had the same thoughts when Buster first paired me with him at the auditions,” Rosita said defensively. “But trust me, after you’ve spent some time with him you’ll find his energy really is contagious.”

“If you say so,” Ash said, still not entirely convinced.

Mike muttered something under his breath and although nobody could hear it, they figured it was anything but pleasant. Rosita chose to ignore it.

“I’m going to go get changed, so I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”

Rosita excused herself and, no sooner had she left the room, the three gained the attention of the animal they were here to see.

“Hey guys!” came an enthusiastic voice, the sound of heavy footsteps following as Gunter bounded over to them. “I did not see you come in. You are all here for dance classes too, ja?”

Mike, Ash and Johnny all mumbled in agreement.

“Aww, come on guys, this is going to be fun! Ven I am done with you, you will all be dancing with the fire in your bellies and the passion in your hearts! Come, come!”

Gunter ushered them over to the middle of the room and, after a quick greeting with Meena, everyone nervously formed a line. Ash stood a small distance away at the end, still worried about injuring someone.

“Now, we are going to learn some of the basics today. Dancing should not be done with ze head, but you must know the basics if you do not want to look like you are drinking one too many of ze beers, ja?”

Everyone had a small chuckle at the joke, even Mike. It certainly helped alleviate their nerves, though that didn’t last long.

“But first, costumes!”

Gunter reached into his gym bag and pulled out a series of red sequin costumes in varying sizes, each just as gaudy as the last.

“You can not be serious,” Ash and Mike both said in unison. Johnny and Meena simply groaned.

“Oh come on, do not be such party poopers. Look, Rosita is wearing one!”

The four turned their attention to Rosita as she re-entered the room, having changed into one of the very costumes Gunter was holding out in front of him, complete with a frilly skirt. She became slightly flustered as she noticed everyone’s gaze on her. Thankfully their attention quickly turned back to Gunter, who had somehow already shed his tracksuit and was wearing a matching unitard.

“Oh, there is _no_  way I am showing that much chest!” Mike argued.

“And I am not wearing that skirt!” Ash added.

“I… I don’t think it would even fit me,” Meena said, and everybody agreed. Now that they looked properly at the outfits Gunter was holding, they certainly looked too small. Even the smallest one looked too small for Mike.

“Ahh, but you see, zey stretch,” Gunter said, demonstrating by pulling down on one of the unitards and allowing it to snap back into place. “You see? Now go on, I have one for each of you!”

The arguments continued. Rosita took a seat and watched in amusement as Gunter did his best to convince everyone to at least try them on. After a full ten minutes had passed a compromise was eventually reached. Everybody would wear a tracksuit similar to the one Gunter had started in. It at least offered the flexibility that Gunter’s workouts would require, while keeping everyone’s modesty. They didn’t bother to question why Gunter also had one each of those on hand, they were just relieved to not have to go with the first option.

The four animals left the room to change despite Gunter’s protests. He saw no reason why they couldn’t just change where they were, despite the fact that not even Rosita would be willing to do that. As they finally filed back in Gunter pressed a button on his boombox to start the music.

“OK, now that we are _finally_  ready,” he said, not bothering to hide his irritation, “we vill get down to the warm up.”

They all still felt silly in the tracksuits and nervous to try their hand at dancing, but as they got into the warm up, which was really nothing more than a series of stretches and cardio exercises, they began to forget what they were so apprehensive about. As the class transitioned from the warm up to actual dancing they didn’t really seem to notice much of a difference in what they were being taught.

“You see?” Gunter said, eyes sparkling with joy. “Zis is fun! You are all enjoying yourselves, ja?”

Whilst they practised the moves Gunter had instructed them to perform, he moved around the room with Rosita to correct them. He showed them a move again if they didn’t seem to be getting it, or else he would grab their arm or shoulders if they were just out of place in a particular area.

“No, no, you should hold your pose like zis,” he said, lifting one of Meena’s arms higher. “And you need to hold your legs slightly further apart, like zis,” he said, demonstrating a pose again for Ash. “Mike, you are doing it correctly! You are looking very dashing!”

“Aw, c’mon,” Mike said, pretending to be embarrassed but secretly relishing in the fact that he was outperforming the others.

Johnny didn’t seem to be having nearly as much luck, though. His feet kept thumping to the ground as he lost his balance trying to get into position for a pose. Gunter watched a few attempts before finally Johnny tripped over his own feet, landing with a loud thump.

“No, no,” Gunter tutted, making his way over to the young ape who was pushing himself back off the ground. “You are trying too hard, thinking too much. You should be more fluid!”

“I-I’m sorry, ‘m just not really gettin’ it,” he sighed in frustration.

“Here, let me show you again.” Gunter demonstrated the short routine again, comprised of a few moves and finishing with a pose that needed to be landed a particular way. “You see, your legs are too far apart when you land, and you are not allowing yourself to _feel_  your way through it. Do not worry so much about getting it right, just worry that you are actually doing it.”

Johnny nodded. He still wasn’t sure he understood but decided to try again anyway. He went through the whole routine again and landed the pose, albeit awkwardly, putting himself a little off-balance.

“You are still thinking too much with ze head,” Gunter said, taking note of the look of complete concentration on Johnny’s face as he neared the end of the set of moves. “You have the moves memorised, so now you should not be thinking about doing them, but just doing them.”

“But I-”

“No ‘buts’,” he interrupted before flashing a smile. “Just focus on the music, not on what you are doing. Try again.”

Again, Johnny nodded. This was really difficult, not at all like learning the piano. He was used to learning things in a far more technical way, even things that required feeling. But he didn’t want to disappoint anyone, especially since everybody else seemed to be doing well. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and focused on the beat, going through the motions again. This time he landed the pose without feeling the need to hold his hands out in case he fell. He opened his eyes and realised that, although it wasn’t perfect, it was certainly a lot better.

“Good, you see!” Gunter beamed. “You practice the moves separately to learn how to do zem, but you do not think about this when you put zem together.”

“Yeah, I… I think I got it.”

“Good, now try a few more times, let’s see if we can get zis better now.”

Johnny did just that as Gunter watched, nodding and mentally taking notes on what needed to be improved.

“OK, so I think when you do zis last part, you should hold yourself like this.”

He moved over to Johnny and took hold of his arms, moving them into position.

“Ohh, zis tracksuit hides a lot of muscles, no?” he noted as he let go of Johnny’s arms. “You should have tried on the first costume, I think ze ladies would have liked it.”

“O-Oh, I…” Johnny blushed, not really sure how to reply to the comment.

“And here, you need to bring your legs in just a little bit,” Gunter continued as though he’d said nothing out of the ordinary.

Johnny shuffled his feet a little closer together.

“And bend just a little more here,” Gunter said, pressing his hand into the back of Johnny’s knees. “Lots of muscle here, too,” he muttered to himself, though not quietly enough to stop Johnny from overhearing. “And there! Ze perfect pose!”

“Ah, uhh, thanks. I-I’ll work on that,” Johnny sputtered out.

“Good, good,” Gunter said, oblivious to Johnny’s flustered state. “You do that und I will join Rosita with helping the others some more. Zen I think we vill be done for today.”

Gunter bounced off towards Meena again who seemed to be struggling with keeping herself light-footed, leaving Johnny to wonder what had just happened. It almost seemed like Gunter had been flirting with him. But then, he had mentioned Johnny getting female attention, not male. Perhaps he was over thinking it. After all, it was Gunter. It was probably just another of his many eccentricities, not meant to be taken seriously. After all, Gunter wasn’t necessarily gay anyway, despite everyone having their suspicions.

Besides, Johnny had only just come to terms with his sexuality, having only consulted Ash through the entire ordeal of realising he was bisexual. There was no way Gunter or anyone else would have known. He trusted Ash not to tell anyone.

Dismissing the thoughts he focused on practising the moves and the final pose as he had been shown. After a few attempts he saw that he was getting better, which made him happy. He wanted to do well at this not just for himself, but also to please both Buster and Gunter. Besides, he liked being praised by Gunter. He had such a cute smile…

Johnny realised he was now performing considerably worse. Before he had the chance to consider why the music in the room stopped and Gunter’s voice called out.

“OK everyone, zat is a wrap! If everyone is agreeing, we can do zis again in a few days, ja?”

“Ja!” Ash and Meena giggled, while Mike gave a simple “sure”.

“Glad to hear it,” Buster said, entering the room as everyone turned to him. “So, what did everyone think?”

“It was… actually not bad,” Ash offered first.

“Yeah, it was really fun,” Meena agreed.

“Eh, it was alright,” Mike said. “Not my usual scene, but Gunter here promises we’ll be learning the salsa soon, so…”

“Say no more,” Buster smirked. “And how about you, Johnny?”

“Hm? Oh yeah, yeah, it was good,” he said, not completely focused on the conversation until the attention was directed at him.

“And Gunter, Rosita, how did everybody do?” Buster asked.

“Oh, they were all very good for their first time,” Rosita said.

“Ja, everyone has the potential to be super spicy!” Gunter said, wiggling his hips for emphasis.

“Ugh, please, do not do that again,” Mike chided.

Gunter just shrugged.

“Well, that’s great to hear,” Buster said. “I expect to have four new dancers gracing my stage soon. And I, for one, am loving the tracksuits.”

Everyone grumbled, the clothes still being a sore subject, but Buster just took a bow and left everyone to turn their attention back to Gunter.

“So I am thinking the same time on Thursday?”

Everyone agreed and after a quick chat amongst themselves to compare notes on how the class went, everyone began leaving the room.

“So, I noticed Gunter had to help you a little more than the others?” Rosita said, catching Johnny by surprise as he picked his jacket back off the hook.

“O-Oh, yeah, I was kinda strugglin’ with it, to be honest,” he said, stroking the back of his neck bashfully. “It’s no’ really how I’m used to learnin’ stuff.”

“Oh, I know exactly what you mean. Coming from an engineering background, everything I learned was always so… technical. And I’m sure you said you had experience as a mechanic..?”

“Yeah, so I guess it’s pretty similar.” He then became worried that what he said might have been considered offensive, after all, engineering was a bit of a step above anything he knew. “Well, I mean, obviously not the same since, y’know, engineering takes a _lot_  of education, but…”

“It’s OK, I was the one that made the comparison,” Rosita smiled. “But my point is that you will get it, eventually. You seemed to improve already towards the end of the class, but just don’t lose hope if you ever find anything too difficult. You can work through it.”

“Yeah. Thanks Rosita,” he said, returning her smile earnestly.

“So, I also noticed something else…” Her smile faltered and she seemed slightly concerned. “Gunter was… how do I put this? A little more… handsy with you than he was with anyone else.”

Johnny’s smile completely dropped. “Oh.”

“And I only bring it up because it seemed to bother you. Should I have a word with him?”

“N-No, it’s OK. I didn’t mind.”

“Oh?”

Rosita studied Johnny’s face for a moment and it was only then he realised how what he had just said could be taken. He didn’t see any way of changing that now, though. If he’d said it had bothered him it would have gotten Gunter into trouble, and he didn’t want that. But saying it didn’t bother him, well, Rosita already seemed to catch on. Of course she of all animals would.

“Well, alright then,” she said, seeming to let the matter go, much to Johnny’s relief. “I think Miss Crawly mentioned lunch would be provided in the break room today, so I suppose once we’ve changed I’ll see you there?”

“Yeah, I’ll see you there.”

Rosita nodded and made her way to the female changing rooms. Johnny hung back for a moment, considering what Rosita must have made of their exchange. She’d probably gotten the wrong idea. Looking back on it now, Johnny could admit he somewhat liked the attention Gunter gave him, but that didn’t mean he actually liked Gunter that way. Did it?

That wasn’t a matter he wanted to deal with right now. The class had been a real workout and he was too tired and hungry to dwell on it. He made his way to the male changing rooms and, making sure it was clear, changed into his usual gear. He was looking forward to practice with Miss Crawly later that afternoon, so he let that occupy his thoughts instead as he made his way to the break room.


	2. A Struggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, so first of all thank you to everyone who left kudos on my first chapter, and thank you to the anon who left the comment also. It’s encouraging to see there are people still kicking about the fandom who are willing to read my work and it’s sure to keep me motivated.  
>   
> I’m currently most of the way through chapter 3, and it’s looking likely I’ll keep up with updates quite easily for now. If I do happen to write more chapters in advance, I’ll probably keep at least two in reserve in case I’m unable to write for whatever reason. If, and this is a big if, I get any further ahead of that then I’ll probably make bonus updates. So, tentative update schedule is main updates on Wednesday (AKA my only day off work), and bonus updates on Saturday if I have one.  
>   
> Also a quick note, I have gone back and changed a couple of lines in chapter 1, but don’t worry, I don’t expect you to go back and re-read it. It’s just simply to say that it’s been two years since the original singing contest, to give the story a bit of perspective time-wise. I also added the ship tags for Rosita/Norman and Mike/Nancy. It seems it’s kinda easy to forget canon ships, or at least for me it is. They won’t really be the focus of the story anyway, but I figured it’s best to have them there.  
>   
> And with all of that, I hope you continue to enjoy!

_Thump_.

This seemed easier the first time.

 _Thump_.

This just wasn’t working.

 _Thump_.

He just wasn’t able to learn this way.

 _Thump_.

The piano, car repairs, getaway driving, even school work, damn how he missed school work compared to this.

 _Thump_.

Everything Johnny had ever learned was _technical_. Granted, playing the piano also required an emotional element, but there was still a technical aspect behind how to press harder or softer on the keys, when to play faster and slower, and which keys were to be played when. But to be shown how to do a series of dance moves and then told to just throw them together in a routine in whatever order you _felt_  like had the young gorilla stumped. Is this what it was like to compose your own music?

The thought had Johnny stop what he was doing. He hadn’t been successful in his attempts of writing his own music yet, but he’d certainly tried. He supposed that would require more feeling than thinking, too. He looked over at Ash who, despite this only being their second session in Gunter’s class, was showing no signs of trouble in practising routines more than twice the length of what he was currently doing, even throwing in moves of her own that Gunter hadn’t shown her. And she had successfully written her own music. Five songs since Set It All Free by Johnny’s last count.

Perhaps that was why the few times he’d tried putting pen to paper nothing more than a frustrated sigh and staring blankly at the walls had come of it. And perhaps that was why he was struggling so much to put together a simple routine of just five dance moves. The moves weren’t particularly difficult, either. Individually they were perfectly easy to perform. But trying to put them together to create something more than the sum of its parts just completely baffled him.

He’d tried keeping in mind what Rosita had said, that he would get it eventually. But it just wasn’t coming fast enough and it was _frustrating_. He was trying to follow Gunter’s advice, to follow the music and just do it, but his mind was being far too active at filling him with doubts and insecurities and he just couldn’t pull it off.

With another sigh Johnny decided he needed a break. He was about to excuse himself but the very first word out of his mouth came out as nothing more than a raspy croak. He hadn’t realised how thirsty he was and, now that he was noticing, he was pouring with sweat. Whether that was just down to the physical activity or if his frustration had a part to play too, he didn’t know. He simply looked to the floor with slumped shoulders, dejected, and made his way off to the side of the room, not caring who noticed. He lowered down to fish his water bottle out of his bag, unscrewed the cap to take a quick gulp and, finding the sensation of the cool liquid travelling down his throat far too satisfying, proceeded to drink the entirety of its content. Somehow that still didn’t feel like it was enough.

“Wow, you uhh… really chugged that water there,” came a voice from just outside of Johnny’s vision.

He quickly turned his head to see Ash looking up at him, slightly concerned.

“You OK big guy?” she asked. “You didn’t seem to be doing so hot out there.”

“’m feeling pretty bloody hot, alrigh’,” he grumbled, throwing his bottle next to his bag.

“Yeah, I could tell,” she said, pointing at the discarded bottle. “What’s up?”

Johnny groaned, dragging his hands across his face. With how damp his fur was he instantly regretted the decision, wiping his hands off on the least damp patch he could find on his tracksuit jacket. “I’m just not really gettin’ it. I dunno wha’s going on with me today, just can’t seem to focus.”

“C’mon, it can’t be that bad, right? You struggled with the piano when you first got here, and believe me, we heard,” she added with a smirk, causing Johnny to grimace. “But you got there! It just takes practice.”

“But this is different, Ash. It’s no’ like anything I’ve ever learned before. I wanna just learn what I’m s’posed to be doin’, not be taught a few moves and jus’ left to it. I can’t do this.”

“Sure ya can! You’ve danced around in your room as a kid before, right?”

“Uhh, well actually… no.”

“No?” Ash gave Johnny an incredulous look. What kind of kid didn’t do stupid stuff like play their music too loud and dance around to it when their parents weren’t watching?

Johnny shrugged. “Dad didn’ really like me doin’ that kinda stuff. Told me I should be doin’ something more useful like studying or helping out around the house.” He looked around the room to make sure nobody was watching and then lowered his voice to make sure they couldn’t hear. “Or help plan some kinda crime.”

Ash shook her head. It was still a weird thing to think that Johnny was, essentially, an ex-criminal. Or at least an accessory to many crimes. She’d almost laughed the first time Johnny told her. Now it just made her sad to think her friend had lost out on what should have been a normal childhood.

“Jeez, Johnny,” she said, lowering her voice to match Johnny’s own. “How young did your dad start you out?”

“Pretty young,” he shrugged. “I dunno how young exactly. Well, he didn’t exactly ge’ me involved ‘til I was older, but he never really made it a secret around me as a kid so I guess it was kinda normal.”

“OK, so, what I’m hearing is you have had literally _no_  experience in dancing before Moon started us doing this class?”

Johnny simply nodded.

“And he thought you’d be good at it,” she said with a small laugh.

“Tha’s not really reassurin’,” Johnny pouted.

“I dunno what else to say, big guy. You’re screwed.”

“Wha’- Ash!”

Ash couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles at Johnny’s offended look. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding, but that look is priceless! Hold on, lemme get a camera.”

Johnny scowled at her, but that didn’t scare the porcupine in the slightest. Johnny didn’t have a single ill-willed bone in his body, so even when he appeared to be angry it was hard to see him as intimidating.

“OK, but seriously, you shouldn’t be stressing out so much about this,” Ash said, not wanting to tease the poor ape any more. “This is a _class_ , you have people to help you here. You’ve got Gunter and Rosita, and you have me, Meena and Mike. Well, maybe not Mike.” She spared the mouse a quick glance and he appeared to be displaying his over-confident smile proudly throughout whatever dance he was currently doing. “He’s gonna be an insufferable dick when he actually gets good at this, I just know it.”

“Ash!” Johnny gasped. He knew Ash and Mike weren’t the best of friends but hearing such language directed at him was a bit much.

“Oh come on, you know I’m right!”

“Well…” Despite the fact that he certainly wouldn’t use the same words, he couldn’t really argue that Ash had a point. Mike had become friendlier to the cast as of late, that much was true, but he was still determined to flaunt his superiority any time he could.

“Anyway, back to the point. If you’re really struggling to do this, then just let loose and do whatever you feel like doing. Dance like you’re that kid in your room, _without_  your dad barging in to tell you off. Don’t worry about what we’ve been taught, just get a rhythm going and throw some moves out!”

“But I’ll look stupid!”

“So? We all look stupid!”

“You guys don’t. You all look like you actually know wha’ you’re doing.”

“Ugh, Johnny, stop making this so difficult…”

“Vat is going on here then?” came another voice.

Johnny and Ash turned around and spotted Gunter looking at them quizzically.

“I just, uhh… I’m no’ gettin’ it, is all,” Johnny said.

“He’s too worried about embarrassing himself,” Ash added, earning a glare from the ape.

“Ohh, is zat all? Here, come, you have nothing to be worried about,” Gunter said, grabbing Johnny’s hands and pulling him back to the middle of the room.

“Hey, wait, I-”

“You vill see zat there is no shame in dancing poorly, as long as you are trying!”

Johnny saw that attention was beginning to turn to them from everyone else in the room.

“Gunter, I… I dunno if I…”

“You think ze animals in the clubs are caring if they cannot dance like the big stars? No, of course not! They just feel ze rhythm and dance to it! Let us start simple. You just feel the music, start moving to the beat…” He began swaying his hips in time to the music, gesturing for Johnny to do the same.

Johnny’s face flushed furiously. He knew everybody was watching and his nerves were getting the better of him. Despite his better judgement he did as he was told, shuffling his body to the beat of the music.

“Ja, a little awkward, but zat is alright! And then you throw in some simple moves, like clapping your hands, or throwing out your arms… maybe a spin.”

Gunter began clapping his hands in time to the music and then added a spin, looking expectantly at Johnny.

Johnny lifted his hands, preparing to clap them.

“This oughta be good,” Mike said, and out of the corner of Johnny’s eye he could see the condescending smirk on the mouse’s face.

Immediately he lowered his hands back down and stopped moving. He couldn’t do this.

“Vat is wrong?” Gunter said, smile falling.

Johnny looked around him. Mike was watching him gleefully, Ash, Meena and Rosita all watching with concern. His embarrassment was beginning to reach new heights. He didn’t mind practising his moves while everyone else was busy practising theirs, but now that everyone was watching him, probably expecting him to fail, he just couldn’t do it.

“I feel bloody stupid,” Johnny finally spoke up.

“Well zat is alright,” Gunter said, smiling again. “You just need to-”

“ ** **No**** , I can’t...” Johnny cut in, but he trailed off, embarrassment getting the better of him. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say or what he was doing, he just wanted to leave. Now. “I-I can’t do this!” he finally snapped.

He spun around on his heel and stormed out of the room, not bothering to pick up his bag or jacket on the way out.

“Johnny!” everyone but Mike called out.

“Aww, c’mon kid, come back!” Mike called after. “We wanna see ya fall some more!”

Everyone turned to glare at the mouse.

“What?” he chuckled, giving a small shrug. “Kid should be able to take a joke, right?”

“You could see he was already embarrassed,” Rosita snapped. “Why did you feel the need to add to that?”

“He was already leavin’, not like what I said made a difference,” he defended.

“That still wasn’t a very nice thing to say,” Meena said.

“Yeah, well…” Mike did feel a little bad. “Alright, lemme go talk to him. It’s clear whatever Spikes over there said to him didn’t work,” he added, pointing over to Ash.

“I swear to God,” Ash said, about to stomp her way over to Mike when Gunter spoke up.

“No, no, there vill be no fighting. I will go talk with him. I do not think I am teaching him the correct way. I should maybe see what I can do to help so he is not feeling ze nerves so much.”

“Good idea,” Rosita agreed. “I can take over here for now.”

“Thank you Rosita.”

Gunter left the room and followed what part of Johnny’s route he had seen the ape go. It was along the way to his own practice room so it made sense that he would probably have gone there. As Gunter made his way closer he could hear the sweet sound of piano keys being struck in the arrangement of a classical piece, Beethoven was his best guess. It was far different from anything he’d heard Johnny play and he briefly wondered if it was in fact him, or if perhaps Miss Crawly had found the inspiration to play today. She had been known to from time to time. His suspicions were soon put to rest, however, as he rounded the corner and saw through the window of Johnny’s practice room that it was most certainly the young gorilla playing.

With his concentration firmly set on the keys Johnny didn’t notice when Gunter slipped into the room. The first thing the pig couldn’t help but notice was the fact that Johnny’s tracksuit jacket had been unzipped part of the way and he was, to Gunter’s great surprise and delight, not wearing a shirt underneath. Not much was visible, particularly from the angle at which Gunter was standing, just a tuft of seemingly damp and matted fur poking out of the jacket and the faintest hint of well-defined, grey-skinned pectorals beneath. Gunter didn’t allow his eyes to linger too long, he knew the young ape already had more than enough cause to be embarrassed today and he wasn’t here to add to it.

Gunter didn’t find himself able to focus long on Johnny’s body anyway. The tune coming from the piano completely enraptured him. He allowed his eyes to close as the music washed over him. He didn’t feel the need to dance to it, simply listen. The raw emotion in the notes being played was enough of an experience on its own.

Ah, how he had missed the classical music he listened to so often in his youth. For the longest time now his music choice had been filled with more pop than anything else, much of it lacking the ability to evoke such emotions as what he was currently listening to. It was… nostalgic, sad, mournful.

He wasn’t quite sure how long he’d been standing there listening, it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes but it felt like it should have been much longer than that. He only opened his eyes as the last note was struck, lingering in the air for a moment as it slowly faded to silence. Finished with the song, Johnny still didn’t look up from the keys, nor did he move his hands from their final position. He mumbled something to himself that Gunter couldn’t quite hear, but for some reason Gunter didn’t feel he should have. Looking into Johnny’s face and seeing a look of pure grief, Gunter knew this was clearly supposed to have been private, he shouldn’t have been here. Before he had the opportunity to quietly slip away, however, Johnny lifted his gaze to meet Gunter’s, the briefest flash of surprise lighting up in the ape’s chestnut eyes before settling again. It was then that Gunter noticed the fur below Johnny’s eyes were soaked, wetness much fresher than the sweat in the rest of his fur.

“S-Sorry, gimme a… a minute,” Johnny choked as he turned his back to Gunter, wiping his eyes on his sleeves and taking a couple of deep breaths to compose himself.

“No, I am the one who should be sorry,” Gunter said meekly. “I do not feel I should have been eavesdropping, but I… I could not leave. I have never heard you play such music here, it vas… beautiful.”

Johnny turned back to Gunter with a weak smile. “Thanks. I think the pacin’ was a little off, though. I‘m still gettin’ used to it.”

“It was Beethoven, no?”

“Yeah. Moonlight Sonata. It was somethin’ my mum used to play when I was a kid, one of her favourites. She tried teachin’ it to me, but I reckon I was a bi’ too young back then. Miss Crawly was kind enough to help me learn it.” His smile gave way to a small frown for a moment. “Well, the first movement of it, anyway. I’m not really interested in learning any more of it jus’ yet. ‘Specially the third movement, that looks way too intimidatin’.” His smile returned and he let out a small laugh.

Gunter’s eyebrows knitted together for a moment. “You are not often talking about your life outside of the theatre.” It was as though he was only realising this as he said it.

Johnny turned away in a slight panic. There was an awful lot he didn’t talk about, at least not with anyone but Ash, and he didn’t soon plan to. He felt that keeping his face hidden was probably best for the obvious lie he was about to tell. “Yeah, well, no’ really got much going on in my life. Pretty borin’ really.”

“I see.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Johnny was beginning to grow concerned that Gunter had seen through him and would try probing deeper into his personal life, but he didn’t.

“So… the reason I am following you here is because I was vorried that I had not made you feel better with yourself, but much worse. I did not mean to do this and I wanted to apologise.”

“Oh, uh, it’s alrigh’,” Johnny said sheepishly. “I don’ really know why I reacted like that, I don’ usually get so nervous. I guess I was jus’ frustrated when I wasn’t gettin’ it and when I realised everyone was watchin’ me I kinda panicked.” He turned his body around to face Gunter and his expression grew apologetic as he met Gunter’s gaze with a sincere smile. “I’m sorry I stormed ou’ like that, I didn’ mean to worry you.”

Gunter blushed slightly, a dopey grin settling on his face. Something about the way Johnny smiled so sweetly while apologising over something that really wasn’t his fault gave him an undeniable charm. He looked so innocent and… cute.

Also, his jacket was still unzipped and his exposed chest was now in full view.

Johnny noticed Gunter’s eyes flick downwards for the briefest of moments and realised just what he was looking at.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” he said, growing just as flustered as he fiddled with the zipper, quickly pulling it up to his throat. “I-It’s just, I was so bloody hot an’ I needed to cool down.”

Johnny wasn’t doing himself any favours in Gunter’s eyes. Growing so flustered over such a simple thing was only making him cuter and it amused Gunter to no end.

“It is OK,” Gunter said, holding back his laughter with limited success, “but I am needing to get back to the class. I was wondering if you vould like to join us again?”

“Uhh, I… I dunno…”

“You do not have to participate if you are feeling self-conscious, you can just watch me or Rosita instead.”

Johnny pondered for a moment before slowly nodding his head.

“Great!” Gunter said before offering his hand.

Johnny looked at the hand for a moment before cautiously accepting it, allowing Gunter to help pull him up from his stool.

“Oof, you are perhaps going to be harder to lift than you look.”

“W-What?! Lift?!” Johnny looked horrified at the suggestion.

“Ja! But do not look such worried face, zis will not be for a few weeks at least.” Gunter smiled confidently. “I will manage, though, perhaps I will do some of the weight lifting first,” he added with a chuckle, mimicking the motion of a bicep curl.

This didn’t do much to alleviate Johnny’s fear of such a daunting feat, but he did at least try to laugh at Gunter’s joke. At least he thought it was a joke. He was quite a bit heavier than Gunter, after all. It wouldn’t be as easy for Gunter as it would be for Johnny to lift him.

Johnny found himself growing flustered again at the thought. Why was the idea of lifting Gunter giving him butterflies in his stomach? His hands would be placed upon Gunter’s skin, since there was far too much of it on show not to make that kind of contact. Johnny’s hands would be upon the pig’s bare midriff, Gunter’s body hovering over his own…

Oh dear. Johnny now knew he had it bad. He tried his hardest to dismiss the thoughts and it was only then that he realised Gunter had been talking to him the whole time. He mentally rejoined the conversation, hoping his spacing out would go unnoticed.

“And I am thinking perhaps you will be the only one who can lift Meena. I do not vant to be mean to the poor girl, but she is an elephant so she is naturally very big! No-one else is going to be able to do zis.”

“Uhh, sure, sure.”

“We vill take it slow, however. You will practice with me or Rosita first, so do not worry. We do not want anyone to get hurt.”

A smirk slowly crept onto Johnny’s face as a thought suddenly flashed through his head. “What about Mike?”

“Hmm… I do not think he will have ze strength to lift Ash, and everybody else is out of the question.”

“Maybe he could try to lift Mr. Moon?” Johnny offered, barely concealing his laughter.

“Oh, I would pay good money to see zis,” Gunter snorted. “But no, I am thinking perhaps he should invite his girlfriend to practice this.”

The two had now reached the practice room in which the class was still going on. Gunter looked up at Johnny, a look of slight concern etched into his features. “You are sure you want to continue?”

Johnny heaved a nervous sigh. “Yeah, I think so. I’ll at least watch, maybe join in if I can ge’ over my nerves.”

“Good, good. You know, if it is really making you nervous to do this in front of ze others, you could always come to my dance studio to practice some more.”

“But, wouldn’t there still be other animals there?” he asked, confused as to how that would make a difference.

“Sure, sure, there vould, but you do not know any of zem. And they will be making big fools of themselves, too. I should not say zis, but there is a bull in my class and he is the clumsiest! But nobody laughs at him, everyone is learning! You will feel good in my Friday night class, I am thinking.”

Johnny now saw why Gunter had made the suggestion. It’s true that making a fool of himself in front of strangers would be easier than doing the same in front of the cast. But at the same time, it still meant looking stupid in front of Gunter. But if Gunter was used to seeing worse, perhaps that wasn’t such a bad thing. Plus, he was still determined not to let anyone down.

“OK, yeah, I’ll do it.”

“Wonderful! Ze class starts at 7pm, but I am advising you to come fifteen minutes before that to get a locker and to change.”

“Cool. And, uhh… 'ow much is it?”

“How much is it?” Gunter repeated, looking confused before realising what Johnny meant. “Oh! Don’t be silly, I will not be charging you!”

“Hey, lovebirds, you coming in or what?” Ash called out to them, and they both turned to see that everyone’s eyes were on them.

Johnny’s eyes grew wide at the comment and he felt his face heat up considerably, but Gunter acted as though nothing strange had been said.

“Ja, we are coming, I was just making sure Johnny vas not going to run away again,” Gunter said, giving Johnny a teasing smile before bounding over to the other side of the room again.

It took a moment to calm himself down but Johnny decided to play along, if only to ignore the comment as well. “Oi, don’ make me change my mind!” he said, pretending to be offended.

The comment did go ignored by everyone since Ash had only meant it as a joke, or at least everyone except Rosita. Johnny hadn’t noticed her watching him in particular and she’d seen his face. She knew that look, one from her youth that many young men had displayed when called out on their crushes, especially when she’d first asked Norman about his.

She just smiled softly; between what had just happened and what Johnny had said a few days ago it was easy to piece together what was happening and the situation was as amusing as it was sweet. She wasn’t going to pry, though. She doubted anything would come of it and there was no harm in allowing the young ape the luxury of having a crush. She did however make a mental note to tell Johnny in as subtle a way as possible that she was available should he need to talk. Perhaps next time he came to visit, away from the ears of their fellow cast members.

For now he seemed content watching Ash, Mike and Meena dance and trying to pick up pointers, eyes only occasionally glancing in Gunter’s direction for the briefest of moments. With only twenty minutes of the class left she doubted he would learn much, but it was at least nice to see him enjoying himself again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I also only ever learned the first movement to Moonlight Sonata. It's been more than ten years and I still haven't bothered to learn the rest.


	3. A Solution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note, any OC introduced in this story is going to be given next to no attention. They're just there because they need to be there, maybe used for a joke or two. I'm not terribly great at introducing OCs into fandoms and I'm not about to start now.

The mashing of several keys at once could be heard throughout the backstage, followed by a heavy sigh. Anyone could be mistaken in believing this was someone’s first time learning the piano, but it was far from it.

“Johnny dear, are you feeling alright?” Miss Crawly asked.

Johnny looked down at his hands resting upon the keys of the piano. He was currently being taught how to play something that was of a slightly different style than he’d learnt before, but that wasn’t the reason he seemed to be struggling so much. “I’m sorry Miss Crawly, I’m jus’ distracted. I can’ focus.”

Miss Crawly nodded in understanding. “I heard you would be taking extra classes to help with your nervousness when dancing. Is that today?” Johnny only nodded in response. “And that’s why you’re feeling distracted?”

“Yeah. I’m really sorry, I don’ mean to waste your time.”

“Oh, it’s not a waste, Johnny. You’re good company, especially when I have no paperwork to do. How about I fetch you a cup of tea?”

“That would be lovely, Miss Crawly.”

The elderly lizard slowly made her way to the kitchen to do just that. The first few times she had offered when they began piano lessons in the old theatre Johnny had actually told her he preferred coffee. She never seemed to remember that fact and Johnny didn’t have the heart to correct her any more. It had gotten to the point where he probably did prefer tea now, if only out of habit.

After just a moment of trying to calm himself, Johnny began to play again. However, he saw no improvement in his ability and decided to stop. Perhaps today wouldn’t be the day to learn this new song.

Miss Crawly returned only moments later carrying a tray, atop which was a teacup and saucer, a mug and a plate topped with a few cookies.

“Here you are, Johnny,” she said, holding the tray out to him.

Rather than taking just his cup he took the whole tray from her, setting it down on a table to the side of the piano and offering the coffee mug back to Miss Crawly, taking care to hold it from the bottom so that she could take it by the handle.

“Oh, thank you dear.” It wasn’t anything new, Johnny had always done this for her, but such a gentlemanly action could never go unthanked in her opinion.

“No, thank you Miss Crawly,” he replied, taking a sip of his tea. It burned his tongue and throat, being entirely too hot, but it was a habit Johnny would never seem to break. The taste was sweetened to his liking and it was neither too milky nor too strong. Despite never remembering his preference for the actual beverage, Miss Crawly had a knack for always getting his tea just right. He held the plate out so that Miss Crawly could also take a cookie before placing it back on the tray and taking his own.

“I think we should call it a day with the piano,” Miss Crawly said. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little chat. I still need to thank you for setting me up with that… that dating… thing.” She gestured with her hands as though that would help explain what she meant.

“Oh, the online dating profile?” he said, visibly flinching. He’d already heard the horror stories she called dates that resulted from _that_  fiasco. But, something good did come of it, if completely by accident. “How are things going with Herman?” he asked hopefully, dunking his cookie into his tea before taking a bite of it.

“Oh, just wonderful, Johnny. He’s ever so romantic. He wants to take me on vacation some time this year.”

“Yeah? Anywhere nice?”

“Well, we haven’t decided yet. We don’t want it to be somewhere too hot, but we would like it to be somewhere with a beach. Oh, the sound of the waves would go so well with a night of moonbathing.”

Johnny still couldn’t wrap his head around this ‘moonbathing’ business. He couldn’t see what kind of benefit it could truly have, especially for one’s complexion as Miss Crawly had insisted. Perhaps it was an old animal thing?

“That sounds great Miss Crawly. Once you’ve both decided where and when, I hope you both have a good time.”

“Thank you Johnny, I’m sure we will. Now what about you? Are there any ladies you have your eye on romancing?”

“Oh, um, no Miss Crawly.” He didn’t feel comfortable with where this was going and decided to stuff the rest of his cookie in his mouth, hoping not to receive any further questions. This didn’t work, however.

“Or perhaps any gentlemen? I’m not one to judge, dear.”

Johnny’s face suddenly felt very hot and it took all his willpower not to either spit out the remainder of his cookie or choke on it. Miss Crawly’s perception had always been up for debate, but she did seem to have a keen eye for certain things. He hadn’t been giving off any signals, had he?

“N-No, Miss Crawly. There’s no-one I’m tryin’ to, uhh… to romance righ’ now.”

“Oh, don’t worry Johnny, you’ll find someone soon enough. A handsome young man like you is bound to have a long line of… whoever you’d like, just waiting for you.”

His face only became hotter. She definitely seemed to be suggesting something, though her expression looked completely innocent as she finally tucked into her own cookie. Johnny supposed she really did hold no judgement towards him, whether she knew his sexuality or not. Much like the cup of tea in his hand, Johnny felt no need to argue it.

“Thank you, Miss Crawly. I hope so.”

The elderly lizard simply nodded as she finished her cookie before pointing at the plate that held two more of them. “You help yourself to those now, one will be enough for me.”

Johnny nodded, helping himself to another. Since the conversation hadn’t started back up he took the last one and ate that too before drinking his tea. Miss Crawly simply sat there drinking her coffee in silence, staring off into space. Johnny had come to realise that as much as she liked conversation, she was also just as content to share a moment of silence with whoever she may be with. It didn’t happen often with as busy a place as the theatre could be, so he never felt the need to take that away from her. The silence was always comfortable anyway.

“Oh goodness, look at the time!” Miss Crawly finally spoke up. “It seems I’ve kept you longer than I should have, Johnny. You have a class to get to.”

Johnny looked up at the clock, noticing it was now a quarter past six. He still had plenty of time to get to the studio, since it was only on the other end of the street, but now would be a good time to leave.

“I s’pose I should go then,” he said, placing his now empty cup onto the tray. “Thanks again for the lesson, Miss Crawly. I promise I’ll be less distracted next time.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” she smiled.

Johnny took her empty cup and the rest of what was on the tray and, despite her protests, gave them all a quick wash before bidding her farewell, grabbing his gym bag and leaving the theatre. At the entrance doors stood his red and yellow skateboard, scuffs showing its age but still as reliable a mode of transport as it was when he was a kid. He grabbed it and made his way down the steps to the street, stepping onto the board and kicking off the sidewalk a couple of times. The studio was less than a five minute walk away so the skateboard really wasn’t necessary, but since he’d be heading straight home after the class there was no sense leaving it there.

The entrance to the building, smaller than Johnny had expected, loomed into view. It looked fairly simple, and were it not for the large, garish neon sign that read ‘Gunter’s Dance Studio’ he probably would have skated on past it. Johnny had to have a small chuckle, the name wasn’t very creative but the presentation was certainly very… Gunter. As he approached he could hear the unmistakable beat of the pop music Gunter loved to dance to so much, slightly muffled by the closed door but still most certainly distinct. He noted that there was another, smaller door to the side, which he figured must lead to the apartment above. He almost felt sorry for whoever lived up there, knowing full well how loud a class with Gunter could be, and briefly wondered how someone could put up with several every day. Unless it was Gunter himself who lived up there. The possibility lingered on Johnny’s mind, he would have to ask him about that.

He picked up his skateboard and opened the door, making his way into the reception area within. Johnny noticed that the impression he got from outside was right; it was rather small, with three doors leading off from it, not including the entrance behind him. One was marked with a symbol for female animals and one for male animals, so he figured those would be the changing rooms. The unmarked door had a small window in it, through which the studio could be seen.

The other thing he noticed was how new everything seemed. His nose picked up the faintest smell of fresh paint, although it did seem overpowered by the musky scent of sweat. There were no windows to be seen and the place didn’t seem well ventilated, so he could only imagine how hot the studio must get with multiple animals performing a high level of exercise such as dance.

And that was another thing he noticed. As soon as he stepped foot into the building he almost immediately felt the need to shed his jacket. Now that he was done taking everything in he did just that, making his way over to the male changing rooms. He found a spare locker fairly easily, in fact there seemed to be far too many available, more lockers than animals they could even fit in the studio. Unless they were all the size of Mike. Then perhaps there wouldn’t be enough, though there would then be the separate issue of the lockers being too _big_. He briefly wondered if there were any smaller animals in the class. He’d probably soon find out.

The key was already inserted into most of the lockers and the one he chose was already unlocked. He neatly folded his jacket and placed it inside along with his skateboard. He then took his gym bag off his shoulder, setting it down on a bench and pulling out the tracksuit Gunter had provided him. He paused briefly, looking over the garish yellow outfit. If dance classes were going to be a more regular thing then perhaps he could invest in something he would enjoy wearing more. Preferably something lighter considering how warm he already was. Perhaps if he earned enough money over the coming weeks he’d think about it.

He quickly changed clothes, thankful that nobody else had entered whilst he did so. Now in the tracksuit he threw his clothes into his gym bag, much less diligent than he had been with his jacket. He placed the bag in the locker, closed it and turned the key, struggling a moment to pull the key out. The lock was a little stiff, probably another sign of how new everything was. Johnny had to wonder how Gunter afforded all of this, it couldn’t have been cheap to furnish an entire studio and since they were between shows they weren’t earning any money from the theatre currently. Perhaps it had taken a lot of saving. This did seem to be his passion after all. One that had evidently worked out.

Johnny was happy for him.

The opening of the changing room door broke him from his thoughts and he saw a few animals entering. He also noticed the music had stopped, so they must have just finished a class. Johnny excused himself as he made his way past them, exiting the changing room and making his way into the studio. His eyes were assaulted with how brightly the room was lit in comparison to the rest of the building and he almost felt the need to shield them, instead looking to the floor and blinking a few times until his eyes adjusted. He also noticed there was a strong scent of vinyl, explained by the landing mats scattered around some of the wooden flooring. There were also… a _lot_  of mirrors. Johnny could see himself from almost every angle as he looked around the room before he spotted the one other animal still in the room.

“Ah, Johnny, you have arrived early!” Gunter said, spotting him as well.

“Yeah, I figured I’d, y’know… check ou’ the place before we start.”

“And what do you think? It’s nice, no?”

Johnny gave the room another scan, nodding his head. “Yeah, it is. Bit warm, though,” he said, shaking out his jacket as though trying to fan himself.

“Ah, yes, I was hoping for a studio with windows, to let ze air in more, but this one was looking much cheaper than ze others, so…”

Johnny couldn’t help but notice Gunter’s eyes flash with disappointment at the criticism and he was hit with a pang of guilt. “I-It’s still really nice, though! And everything looks so new! It musta cost a fortune to ge’ it all.”

“Ja, it was costing a lot of money, but it was all worth it!” he said, his enthusiasm coming back in full force. “It has only been a month, but I am doing what I love, and teaching lots of animals to do what zey love too! But do not worry, there will be air conditioning soon. It is just taking them a while to set it up. I do not know why, they say all of these technical words I do not understand, but it should be done by next week they say.”

Johnny nodded in agreement. “That’s wha’ a lot of animals in the trade like to do when they don’ wanna give themselves a time limit on a job. I ge’ it, since I… kinda do it too sometimes, when I’m workin’ on a car with a difficult problem.”

Gunter gasped, looking horrified yet also amused at this. “Vat? You are also frustrating customers with zis? But it is so… evil!”

“Eh, not really, sometimes it’s just necessary."

Gunter put the back of his hand to his head, pretending to feel faint. “No, do not tell me our good boy Johnny is actually one of ze devil’s minions?”

Johnny shrugged. “What can I say? He likes to come an’ play poker on the weekends.”

Gunter snorted. “Ah, you are quick with the wits, no?”

“Get it from my dad. Gotta stay sharp when you’re surrounded by…” He trailed off, eyes going wide when he suddenly realised what he was about to say. He saw Gunter looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to finish, so he had to quickly think of something to say. “Well, uhh… see, dad always had his mates ‘round, so a lot of the time I was around people older than me. Had to be able to keep up with the banter.” It wasn’t technically a lie and Johnny hoped it would suffice.

“Ah, I see. I am learning more about you,” Gunter said, nodding with satisfaction. “But, it appears the rest of the class is beginning to show.”

Johnny noticed Gunter looking through the window in the door and followed his gaze, seeing a few animals making their way to the changing rooms and a couple approaching the studio. As they filed in they greeted Gunter, all taking notice of the new student who would be joining them.

“Hey Gunter, who’s this?”

“Is this that Johnny kid you mentioned?”

“Oh, the one from the theatre right?”

“You never told us he was so handsome.”

“Yeah, he pulls off those threads almost as well as you do.”

Johnny averted his gaze, embarrassed at the sudden attention on him. Gunter was quick to diffuse the situation.

“Yes, this is Johnny, he is also from ze New Moon Theatre. He will be joining us on occasion and he is still new to dancing, so please be kind and do not watch him too closely. I am sure you are all remembering how embarrassing your first classes were, too.”

They all mumbled in agreement, a couple of them apologising before taking their place in the room, forming a few lines. Gunter nodded before turning back to Johnny. “Find a place in ze back, where you will not be seen too well, and then we vill start.”

Johnny nodded, taking a spot in the back row of animals. He took a quick look around, seeing that there were fourteen other animals there. It was quite amusing to see the variety of animals in the class, the largest two being a male rhino and a bull who Johnny suspected to be the clumsy student Gunter had mentioned before, the smallest being a couple of rabbits. Looking up he saw that the ceiling was somewhat low and he wondered if Gunter had ever taught a giraffe here, and how that would have worked out.

“Now, we vill begin with some stretches and a quick warm up,” Gunter said, pressing play on the boombox placed on a stool at the front of the room.

Gunter began leading through some stretches and to Johnny this seemed no different from what he would have done at the theatre. That was, until Gunter instructed them to stretch their legs apart and touch their toes.

 _Thump_.

Everyone looked over to see the bull had fallen to the floor. A couple of the students giggled at the sight, and Johnny felt the urge to do the same, only holding off because he knew that it had been him on the floor only yesterday.

“Dammit Carl, not again,” the rhino said with a grunt, hoisting him off the floor.

“Whoops,” the bull, Carl, said with a small laugh as he got to his feet. “Can’t start a dance class without my ass hitting the floor, can we?”

“The day _that_  happens is the day we all become stars,” a female goat spoke up.

“Not you, though,” one of the rabbits added.

All of the students, Carl included, had a laugh at the exchange. Johnny just watched, fascinated with how easily the situation was handled. Perhaps he could play it off like that should he make a fool of himself, too.

The rest of the class passed by without incident. Johnny was apprehensive at first, but soon got into it as he saw his own mistakes being made by some of the others. Occasionally Gunter would help them and Johnny would pay attention, taking the advice on board, other times he received help from some of the other students, including the rhino who he learned was named Aaron. It wasn’t nearly as embarrassing making mistakes here as it was at the theatre and Johnny even found he was making far less of them. As soon as he stopped focusing on what he was doing and what people thought of him he began getting into the music and was just… dancing. It wasn’t graceful by any means, but he wasn’t falling over or losing balance and it certainly wasn’t any worse than what the other animals around him were doing.

More than anything, Johnny had fun. Gunter picked up on this quite quickly, smirking in satisfaction. He knew this would be a good idea and was impressed to see how fast Johnny was in shedding his inhibitions. Not only did his technique improve, but the smile never left his face, even when he garnered the other students’ attention. There was no hint of embarrassment because any mistake he may have picked up on, there were other animals making the same mistake, and yet other animals ready and willing to help them with it.

Once the class ended, Gunter put a stop to the music and bid everyone farewell. He earned a few hugs and high fives from the students, or else a cheery wave. Johnny earned a few high fives and waves himself.

“You’ll be back again soon, won’t ya?” Carl asked, giving Johnny a firm handshake.

“Yeah, same time next week I reckon,” Johnny said.

“Glad to hear it,” Aaron added, clapping a hand on Johnny’s shoulder with a smirk. “Be a shame to meet a guy like you and not see you around after.”

“Uhh, well, like I said, I’ll be here next Friday,” Johnny said, a little unnerved.

“See ya then,” Carl said with a wink.

The two left the studio and Johnny noticed them linking hands with each other on the way to the changing room. Slightly confused, he turned his attention to Gunter, wanting to thank him for the class. Gunter was frowning down at his phone and typing furiously, so Johnny made his way over and waited for Gunter to finish rather than interrupting him.

“Oh, sorry Johnny,” Gunter said, finally looking up from his phone.

“S’alright, ya looked kinda frustrated there.”

“Ah, yes, I am having a date tonight and it seems zere was a change of plans. He will be coming much later now.”

“Oh, I see.” Johnny almost cringed at how disappointed he sounded and hurried to say something else, trying to sound happier. “Was there, uhh… trouble with booking a table or somethin’?”

“Oh, no, nothing so fancy,” Gunter laughed. “He is just coming to my place. I am not expecting much to come of it, however.” His smile fell and he lowered his voice to nothing more than a mutter. “Nothing ever does.”

Although he didn’t hear the last part, Johnny didn’t like Gunter’s change in mood, so he decided to try and lighten things up. “So, I really wanted to thank you for the lesson. I had a lo’ of fun.”

“Ja, I was seeing this,” Gunter beamed. “Ze other students love you, too! And they were all trying to help you, I see.”

“Yeah, they were. Well, most of them anyway.”

“Ah, you see vat I was saying about Carl then?”

Johnny chuckled. “Yeah, I don’ think I could embarrass myself half as much as he did.”

“But you see that nobody is making fun of him, ja? Well, not too much, but it is all in good fun.”

“Yeah, I did. I really don’ think I need to worry.”

“Good, good. I am happy to hear zis.”

“Oh, speaking of Carl,” Johnny said, quickly looking over his shoulder to make sure no-one else was within earshot. “Are he and Aaron a thing?”

“Ja, but they are always looking for one more, so you should be careful,” Gunter said with a knowing smirk.

“Yeah, I kinda go’ that impression...”

“Oh, so they are already trying to put ze moves on you?”

“Well, not really, but they looked at me kinda…”

“Hungry?”

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

Gunter snorted. “Do not worry, if you tell zem you are not interested they will not bother you.”

Johnny nodded. He meant to say he wasn’t interested, but looking back at the door where he last saw the two men he couldn’t help briefly thinking about it. It was the first time he’d ever attracted any male attention to his recollection and it was oddly flattering. The silence that followed as Johnny thought about this made Gunter a little uncomfortable and, if he was honest, a little jealous. Though for what reason, he couldn’t say.

“So, um, I am perhaps needing to leave, unless you were needing something else?” Gunter spoke up.

“Oh, no, sorry,” Johnny said, turning back to Gunter bashfully. “Just, uhh… thanks, for all of this. It was a big help and I really appreciate it.”

“You are welcome, Johnny.”

“Righ’, uhh… I’ll quickly get changed and I’ll get going. Don’t wanna make ya late.”

“No, I do not think zis would be a good impression to be making, but there is no rush. He will be the one being late, it seems,” he said, waving his phone for emphasis.

“Well, still, I don’ want to keep you if you wanna go prepare.”

“There is not much need to prepare, just a quick shower. I am perfect already,” Gunter added with a small laugh, though it seemed a little hollow.

Johnny didn’t notice though, instead hurrying to get changed and gather his belongings. Nobody else was in the changing room so he decided to skip the shower, not wanting to be the only one keeping Gunter waiting. As soon as he left the building Gunter locked up behind them.

“Well, see you at the theatre on Monday,” Johnny said, offering his hand to Gunter.

“Ja, I vill see you then,” Gunter said, taking Johnny’s hand and shaking it.

Johnny placed his skateboard onto the ground and hopped on, kicking off the ground a few times.

“Good luck on your date!” he called to Gunter.

“Thank you!” Gunter called back, offering a smile and a small wave.

As the young ape disappeared from view, Gunter’s smile dropped and he heaved a heavy sigh. He knew it was a bit of a stretch, calling what was going to happen a date, but Johnny didn’t need to know that. He spun a few keys over on his keyring and inserted one into the side door of the building, trudging his way up to his apartment. Judging by the messages he had been receiving, this was a song and dance he knew all too well, it wasn’t going to be anything more.

Tonight was only going to be another disappointment.


	4. An Upset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, apologies for being late with this chapter but it was unfortunately out of my control. Work has been flat out the past week and a bit and I completely lost the headstart I had on this chapter. That, and I just couldn't get the last part of the chapter to work. I was probably too stressed and couldn't focus enough to do it. I think I'm happy enough with it now, though.
> 
> I'm gonna try working harder to get that two chapter reserve I mentioned before so this doesn't happen again. Thank you all for your patience.

The sound of a blaring alarm clock was certainly not a welcome one. Gunter thrust his arm out from under the duvet, lazily feeling around the nightstand before locating the offending object and shutting the alarm off. He waited for a moment, allowing himself to fully wake up before exerting himself any more than that. In one swift movement he threw the duvet off himself, stretching and letting out a yawn. He rolled over onto his side, facing the other side of the bed. The bed that was always far too large and far too empty.

He hadn’t expected it, he never did, but Gunter couldn’t deny that he had at least hoped to wake up next to another animal this morning. But after having their fun last night, the other man he’d met had been quick to leave. He didn’t even fully dress before he left, almost as though he was… disgusted. Desperate to leave.

Gunter turned again and reached for his phone, unlocking the screen and seeing the messages he had sent and received immediately pop up. He read through them, top to bottom, noting how enthusiastic the young goat had been. At least at first. He then saw the goat’s interest slowly dwindle as the day went on. How had Gunter not noticed that? Perhaps he was too distracted with his classes, but this really should have been obvious. There really had been no chance of convincing him of staying the night, let alone any longer. Hell, it was a miracle the goat had even shown up at all. Sure, the whole hour he’d deemed worthy to give to Gunter had been fun, but it left the pig wanting more. As it always did. A relationship, a date, anything more than just a night of empty pleasure and the loneliness that followed.

But it was only a fantasy. Try as he might there was nobody out there for him, experience told Gunter that much, or so he thought. And some days, much like this morning, the thought was far too difficult to dismiss.

He put his phone back on the nightstand and turned back to the empty side of his bed. He reached a hand out, feeling for something, someone, that wasn’t there. That would never be there. It was cold and undisturbed, never having been slept in. Gunter was desperate to have someone there, even if it was just for a night, so that he could pretend to be happy behind the door to his apartment for once.

A buzz coming from the nightstand interrupted Gunter from his thoughts. He rolled back over, reaching for his phone again and seeing a notification for a text coming from Rosita. He opened the message.

_Hey Gunter, I hope you’re still on for drinks tonight. The babysitter will be here at six, and I managed to convince Norman to come with us! Text back to let us know where and when to meet. xx_

Gunter afforded himself a small chuckle. Rosita always texted with perfect grammar, even typing out the words for numbers. He didn’t know anyone else who did that. Then again, he didn’t know anyone else who counted steps when dancing. These little things had become a subject for light teasing between the two and, as long as he didn’t push it too far, they could both find the funny side of it.

He re-read the text. He didn’t remember making the plan for going out tonight, although it did seem very much like him. To make the plan and to also forget about it. He was hesitant to reply, he didn’t much feel like having fun tonight, but then that was probably the perfect reason why he should. Spending the day wallowing in sorrow didn’t seem quite as appealing now. His fingers hovered over the screen for a moment before he began typing a reply.

_sure sounds great, meet at my apartment when youre ready_

He hit the send button and finally gave in to the need to get up out of bed. His previous thoughts behind him, at least for now, he headed off to have a shower. It was still hours away but he now had something to look forward to. And when it came to nights out, he wasn’t often quick about picking an outfit. That was always the best part.

 

* * *

 

Gunter had just finished dressing as a knock came at his apartment door. He looked at the clock, noting the time as 6:47pm. How did so much time pass already? He quickly bounded over to the door, throwing it open to find the two other pigs on the other side of it.

“Hi Gunter, you look amazing!” Rosita said, scanning over his outfit. Not a single sequin in sight. Still very outlandish colours but they seemed to suit him.

“Thank you, and look at you! Where are you finding zis dress?” Gunter asked, gesturing at the form-hugging black dress she was wearing. “You are looking very _hot_!”

“Thank you,” she giggled.

“Watch it buddy, that’s my wife you’re talking about,” Norman said, smile betraying any attempt at pretending to be angry.

“Oh please, you are already knowing you have nothing to worry about. _You_  are more my type, especially in this little number,” he said, pinching at the material of Norman’s shirt.

Norman just rolled his eyes. Gunter’s advances were never serious, nor over the top. They were clearly only ever meant in jest, or simply as a compliment.

“And that’s my husband you’re talking about,” Rosita said, doing a much better job at appearing stern for a moment, until a smile broke out. “So what’s the plan?”

“Come in, come in, we vill have a couple of drinks before going. Ze place I am wanting to take you is very nice, but drinks are not cheap. This will save money.”

“Now _that_  is not a bad idea, buddy,” Norman said, clapping Gunter’s shoulder with his hand before making his way in, Rosita and Gunter following.

Gunter showed them to his couch and grabbed a bottle and a few glasses, setting them on a coffee table in front of them before taking a seat. He poured a glass for everyone and they began to drink.

“Now, the babysitter agreed to stay overnight, so we don’t have to be too careful about what we drink tonight,” Norman said, raising his glass in emphasis.

“Ah, so zis is meaning you can stay out all night?” Gunter asked, brightening up even more.

“We sure can!” Rosita said. “Gosh, I can’t even remember the last time we danced into the early hours of the morning.”

“Summer of ‘06,” Norman said without a hint of hesitation. Gunter and Rosita both looked at him quizzically.

“Is… is that right?” Rosita asked.

Norman shrugged. “I don’t know, but it sure seems that long, right?” Rosita and Gunter both laughed at this.

“I was thinking you actually knew this somehow!” Gunter said. “Who even remembers things like zat?”

“Trust me, when you have as many kids as we do, you somehow seem to remember even less.”

Gunter just nodded, not really understanding. He wasn’t really one for kids, at least not his own. He was happy to look after Norman and Rosita’s piglets, or anyone else’s children should he be needed to, but never had the desire to have his own.

“And why wouldn’t we?” Rosita added. “Twenty-five kids are a lot to keep track of. It’s been so long since we could just do something for ourselves.”

“You mean except for the singing contest?” Norman asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Ja, but I heard she made a machine to take her place,” Gunter said with a laugh. “Almost like a… a robot Rosita.”

“Yes, well, it didn’t exactly go to plan…” Rosita said, smile falling.

“Oh no, honey, I think we all enjoyed hanging from the clothes line for half the day,” Norman said sarcastically, although his smirk held no malice. Looking back on it, he did find the experience rather amusing.

“It’s not like you were helping any!” she snarked back, to which Norman just rolled his eyes.

“Well, I think zis just proves there is no-one else or nothing else good enough to replace Rosita,” Gunter said, bringing a smile back to Rosita’s face.

“I’ll drink to that,” Norman added, raising his glass before finishing his drink.

“I will say, although that was _sort of_  something for myself, it has basically become my job now,” Rosita said. “I enjoy it, of course, but it’s still work.”

“Well, tonight is not about work, or worrying about ze little piglets, tonight is for fun!” Gunter announced, pouring everyone another drink.

“Y’know, it’s so good to be going out, all three of us together,” Rosita said. “I can’t believe we haven’t done this sooner.”

“I can,” Norman said, earning himself a nudge in the ribs. “Ow! I mean, uh, I’m not exactly sure what to expect from a, uh… y’know.” He waved his hands rather than outright saying what he meant, feeling awkward about it.

“Vat, you are assuming I am taking you both to a gay nightclub?” Gunter asked, looking offended.

“Oh, uh, sorry, I guess I shouldn’t-”

“Because I totally am!” he cut in cheerily.

Rosita just giggled, watching her husband’s expression change from uncomfortable to ashamed to confused all in a single moment. “Don’t worry honey, it is a really nice place,” she said reassuringly.

“Ja, the music is good and the animals are very friendly!”

“I think that’s what I’m most worried about,” Norman muttered.

“It is alright, zey are very welcoming to straight animals, too! If anyone approaches you just tell zem you are not interested, it is this easy!”

“Well, alright.”

“You’ll have us there with you, too,” Rosita added.

“OK, I get it, you don’t need to coach me,” Norman laughed.

The three finished their drinks and Rosita reached for her purse. “Shall we get going then?”

“Ja, I think this will be a good time to leave,” Gunter nodded.

They all left the apartment and, after Gunter locked up behind them, they began the small trek to the club. Norman looked into the door leading into the studio as they passed it.

“Y’know, I haven’t actually been to see this place yet,” he mused. “How’s it working out?”

“Oh, very good! It is what I always hoped it would be,” Gunter said happily.

“And Rosita tells me Johnny is taking classes with you there. How’s that going?”

“Well, it vas only his first class yesterday but he seems to be enjoying it. He is doing much better when he is not worrying about being so embarrassed.”

“Oh, that’s so good to hear,” Rosita said. “I was really worried he wouldn’t take to dancing the same way I almost didn’t, but I’m glad to know he’s doing well now.”

“Yeah, must be nice having such a handsome young man joining your class, huh?” Norman said, smirking.

“Norman!” Rosita scolded.

“Vat? Norman is not lying, Johnny is a handsome young man,” Gunter shrugged. “I think he is already catching attention from the others in ze class.”

“Aw, that’s a real shame buddy,” Norman said, earning himself another nudge in the ribs from his wife.

Gunter knew what Norman was implying and he didn’t much like it. He wasn’t sure why but it was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable, and he felt the need to brush it off. “Bah, Johnny is young and attractive, he can find someone much better zan me.”

“Don’t say that,” Rosita said, hugging Gunter’s arm. “Anyone would be lucky to have you. Maybe we could even find you someone tonight?” she suggested.

Gunter shook his head. After what had happened last night, finding someone to hook up with was the last thing on his mind. “No, tonight I just want to have fun. And not _that_  kind of fun. I am just wanting to have a good time with my friends.”

“And there’s nothing wrong with that,” Rosita said, shooting her husband a glare as though daring him to push the subject any further. He didn’t.

After a few minutes spent walking in silence, observing the noise and the lights of the clubs, cafés and restaurants they passed, Gunter finally spoke up as they finally came to a stop.

“So, this is ze place,” he said happily, waving a hand in front of himself. “I think you are going to love it here Norman, it is my favourite place to go on the weekends.”

“Well, lead the way, big guy,” Norman said, interested in seeing what kind of place held so much of Gunter’s enthusiasm.

Gunter took hold of Rosita’s hand and wrapped an arm around Norman’s shoulders, leading them both to the door. He flashed the bouncer a smile which was eagerly returned as they made their way in.

The interior of the club was brightly lit in neon colours. Flashing lights were in every corner of the surprisingly large space, from the stage to the DJ booth, and even at the bar. Each seemed to be a different colour and Norman wondered how anyone knew what they were doing in the absence of neutral light. Under all of the lights nothing appeared to be the colour it presumably should have been. The music was also very loud, seemingly coming from all angles, making conversation difficult. It was bright and loud and far too garish but Gunter loved it, Rosita loved it, and they hoped Norman would love it too.

“The bar is zis way!” Gunter called out and lead them along. Norman didn’t really need leading, the bar was easy to spot, but he figured it was simply Gunter’s way of saying he wanted another drink.

Once they approached the bar Gunter placed an order for their drinks without asking what anyone wanted, pulling some cash from his wallet to pay and, once the drinks were made, he handed them to Rosita and Norman before taking his own.

“What is this?” Norman asked, eyeing the glass suspiciously.

“Just drink!” Gunter said.

Gunter and Rosita both began drinking but Norman simply gave the drink another look, unsure of whether the liquid was blue or simply reflecting the blue lights of the bar. He gave a small shrug and decided to just drink it. It was sweet, but not too sweet, and seemingly quite strong in alcohol, but beyond that he still had no idea what it was. He couldn’t discern any particular taste he could compare it to. He looked over to Rosita questioningly but only got a shrug in response.

“Nobody knows what it is,” she said.

“Ja, it is part of ze mystery,” Gunter giggled. “It is supposed to have fruity flavours and two types of alcohol, but nobody can guess what is in it.”

“That can’t be right, surely someone has been able to guess it,” Norman said.

“If they have, zey never told,” Gunter shrugged. “Come, we need to show you around!”

Gunter took hold of Norman’s hand and pulled a little too enthusiastically, knocking him slightly off-balance and almost causing him to spill his drink. Rosita helped steady him as she followed them along, giggling. This was just how Gunter acted the first time he’d shown her around the club, like a kid showing a friend their secret den. She actually spilled her drink that time, though.

After a quick tour around they finished back at the bar, Gunter asking the others what they wanted to drink this time. The three pigs spent a short time enjoying each others’ company and talking about many things, whether it be about what was going on in their lives, or at the theatre and with Norman’s job, or simply Norman getting to know Gunter better. The two hadn’t spent much time together before this and he actually enjoyed learning what it was that Rosita saw in him as a friend. Norman found he was a surprisingly likeable animal, despite first impressions. Soon, however, something happened to interrupt them.

“Gunter, is that..?” Rosita started, pointing into the air.

“It is!” Gunter laughed.

“I love this song, we have to dance!”

“Totally!”

Gunter held out his hand and Rosita immediately took it. Norman just looked on, bewildered as the two began to dash away, heading for the dance floor.

“We’ll be back in a moment!” Rosita called back to him.

As soon as their feet touched the dance floor Gunter began leading Rosita through some dance moves. This was the first song they danced to in this club and it held an air of nostalgia to them both. That, and it was also incredibly catchy and easy to dance to. As they danced they began attracting the attention of every animal around them, all of whom seemed to stop their own dancing to watch and cheer. This only encouraged them to dance with more fervour and in that moment nothing else mattered for Gunter. No thoughts of loneliness or desperation, just a fun dance with his best friend as they were cheered by others he either knew or at least recognised.

As the song came to a close, the two pigs struck a pose as everyone cheered even more wildly. The two looked at each other with wide smiles, breathless, and took a bow as the cheers continues.

“Nice moves, Gunter!”

“Way to go, big guy!”

“Smooth, Gunter, real smooth!”

“You’d think I wasn’t even here,” Rosita giggled, pulling Gunter back over to where they had left Norman.

“Ah, it is only because most animals are here for the male attention,” Gunter chuckled. “I am sure they enjoyed your performance too.”

“Great dancing out there Rosita!” came another cheer.

“Ah, you see, they are recognising you, too,” Gunter smiled.

Standing off to the side, Norman couldn’t do much but watch the dance. He cheered as they finished, watching as they slowly made their way back to him.

“Hey handsome, you lookin’ to dance?”

Norman turned around, the voice breaking his attention away from his wife and his friend. A tall wolf seemed to have approached him and was currently eyeing him up and down.

“Um, no, thank you,” Norman said.

“You sure, you were lookin’ pretty fascinated by what was going on up there,” the wolf said, pointing up to the dance floor.

“I was just watching them,” he said, pointing out Gunter and Rosita.

“Ah, yeah, they were pretty impressive.” He smirked as he looked more intently at Norman. “Bet we could show ‘em a thing or two if you wanted to join me though.”

“I’m not interested,” Norman insisted.

“Aw, c’mon, don’t be like that,” the wolf almost whined.

Norman was becoming a little uncomfortable with the attention the male wolf was giving him, eyes straying all over his body. He turned around to see that the others had finally made it back to him.

“Uhh… Rosita? Gunter? What do I do here?” he asked, not sure what else to do.

Rosita and Gunter looked over to Norman, then to the wolf, and then to each other, sharing a laugh.

“How did he get attention so quickly?” Rosita whispered to Gunter.

“I don’t know, but he certainly found himself a gorgeous man,” he whispered back.

“Oh?”

Gunter shrugged. “He does look very hot.”

Rosita laughed again as they turned their attention back to Norman and the wolf.

“I’m sorry, but this is my _husband_ ,” Rosita said pointedly, smiling sweetly as she grabbed hold of Norman’s arm. “Happily married and one-hundred percent heterosexual. But…” She waved her hand over to Gunter who was ogling the wolf from behind her, seemingly _very_  interested in this new animal’s presence. “My friend over here is single.”

The wolf turned his attention to Gunter who immediately shrank back, embarrassed. “Rosita…” he whined.

The wolf’s eyes gave a quick sweep up and down Gunter’s body before he gave a snort, turning away. “Pass,” he said before walking away.

“Well that was rude,” Rosita said, glaring at the wolf’s retreating form. “Are you OK, honey?”

“I’m fine,” Norman said, also looking angry at the turn of events. “How about you, buddy?”

The two turned to Gunter and their hearts almost broke. Gunter couldn’t meet their gaze as he tried, and failed, to keep his composure. To be turned down so quickly and bluntly was a big knock to his confidence. It made it all too easy to fall back into the thoughts he had been having that morning and he suddenly didn’t feel like being here any more.

“I… think I vant to go home now,” Gunter choked, rubbing at his eyes as he turned around, walking off.

“Gunter, wait!” Rosita said.

“Don’t go!” Norman added.

The two chased after him, stopping him before he made it to the exit.

“Please, Gunter, just forget that rude guy and enjoy the night,” Rosita pleaded, placing her hand on his shoulder. Gunter shook it off.

“Gunter, come on buddy, don’t let him ruin the night for you. You said tonight wasn’t about hooking up, right?”

“I know, but… I am not feeling very good about myself right now,” Gunter mumbled. “I would just like to go home.”

“Gunter, please,” Rosita said.

“Rosita, no,” he snapped, his eyes meeting Rosita’s. “I am sorry, but I am not feeling like having fun any more. I do not vant to be here any more, I will just ruin the night for you, too.” He sighed, looking down at the floor. “I am going home.”

He began walking out and Rosita and Norman could only exchange glances, not sure what to do to convince him to stay, or even if they should. Either way, they didn’t really want to continue the night without him. They followed him out onto the street, catching up to him again.

“Gunter, isn’t there any way we can convince you to have another drink with us?” Rosita asked.

“No,” he said simply.

“Well, we can at least walk you home, right?” Norman offered.

“But you guys should be having fun,” Gunter said, pointing back at the club. “You hired a babysitter for zis. You shouldn’t leave early just because I am.”

“It’s not the same without you,” Rosita said, hugging his arm again.

“I’m sorry…” Gunter sniffed. “I did ruin the night, didn’t I?”

“No, that jerk in the club did,” Norman said, clasping his hand on Gunter’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. Again, Gunter shook it off.

“It is not just him!” Gunter cried. “Every man I try to pursue, zey turn me away! Ten years I have been trying to find someone and I just… I cannot. I do not want to spend ze night being reminded of this!”

“But weren’t we just supposed to be having fun?” Rosita asked.

“We vere, but then you, you… you try to introduce this man to me, and he… he turns me down, and… I just… I just…” Gunter buried his face in his hands, his sobbing preventing him from finishing what he was trying to say.

Rosita tried to hug him but as soon as he felt her arms on him he stepped away. “No!” he snapped. “Please, I just… I need to be alone. I’m sorry.”

Gunter continued making his way back to his apartment, despite Norman and Rosita’s protests. They didn’t follow this time, however, recognising that they were making the situation worse. They just watched in concern as Gunter went home alone.

As soon as Gunter reached his apartment he took out his keys, unlocked the door, stepped through and locked it behind him. He climbed the stairs and made his way to his bedroom, shedding his shoes and clothes and collapsing into bed. He was vaguely aware of the buzzing of his phone but he had no will to go to it, instead giving in to his sadness and tiredness. There was no good this day could offer him now. He pulled the duvet over himself and turned over, staring at the empty side of the bed he had stared at for far too long that morning. Again, thoughts of how nobody would ever occupy it filled his head. He scrunched his eyes closed, unable to stop the tears that flowed from them. What had started off as a bad day only became worse, despite promises of being better. Gunter wasn’t sure how much more of it he could take. It was just so _hard_  pretending to be happy when he simply wasn’t.

His sobs were quiet and short-lived as sleep quickly consumed him. He could only hope he would feel better in the morning, but he knew not to expect it.


	5. An Absence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry all, a little late again with this one, but after this I should be completely back on track.
> 
> Also, Big Daddy is making an appearance next chapter and I've just realised I still haven't settled on which name I want to use for him. My first instinct was to go with Pete/Peter, since the convention in a number of fandoms seems to be taking the VA's first name for an unnamed character. But I can see Marcus is much more commonly used, and I kinda like it. (I have him named as both in a lot of notes and rough drafts.) Guess I'll have to decide quickly now.

Tickling the ivories had never seemed easier. Even after Miss Crawly’s lesson had finished Johnny continued playing. There was a rock song he’d been hearing on the radio a lot lately, one he knew for a fact had recently made it onto Ash’s list of favourites, and he quite liked it too. He was currently trying to teach himself to play it, as best as the guitar chords could be played on a piano, learning by ear as he played the song over and over on his phone. It was going better than he could have expected. Ash was going to be impressed, he knew, and impressing her wasn’t often an easy feat. There was still a couple of hours before Gunter’s dance class and he felt particularly inspired to spend his time trying something different. He’d briefly considered trying to compose a song of his own, but he didn’t want to push himself that far. Not yet.

It was amazing how easily everything seemed to come to him now, if he really stopped to think about it. Only one class at Gunter’s studio and suddenly all doubts and inhibitions had been shed. Well, mostly. There was still the subject of the pig himself. There wasn’t much time for interaction until the end of the class, but Gunter had mentioned a date. Johnny tried to be happy for him, he really did, but he couldn’t help but feel crushed. And he still didn’t know why. He could admit that he was finding himself attracted to Gunter, but surely that was all it was. There was no reason to be so crestfallen.

Johnny was suddenly aware he had stopped playing. His hands rested motionless upon the keys and his phone had long since fallen silent, the song having finished for what was probably at least the twentieth time. The young ape had ruined his own mood with his thoughts; he no longer felt able to play. He decided his time could now be better spent checking in with the others.

Only a few steps taken outside of his practice room and Johnny could tell something was wrong. There was no dance or pop music coming from Gunter and Rosita’s room, in fact it was completely empty. At this time they should still be practising their own dancing before teaching everyone else. Looking around he saw that the other rooms were similarly empty, no sign of Ash, Meena or Mike either. It was true that his own practice session had come to an end, but he expected to see at least one of the others still practising. Becoming increasingly concerned he made his way to the break room, hoping to find someone there.

“And you haven’t heard anything from him either?”

“No, not at all. I’ve tried calling several times but-”

“Ah, Johnny!”

Johnny gave a small, awkward wave, aware he had just interrupted a conversation between Rosita and Buster. The director had noticed Johnny first, beckoning him over. Rosita turned her attention to him also, giving him a smile that seemed a little too forced. It didn’t reach her eyes, Johnny noticed, and that only worried him more.

“Hey Mr. Moon, I noticed the other practice rooms are empty?” he said, posing it as a question, curious as to what was going on.

“Ah, yes, I’ve sent everybody home for the day,” he replied, clasping his hands together. “Did Miss Crawly not tell you?” Johnny shook his head. Given the way Miss Crawly was, it wasn’t surprising the news hadn’t reached him “Ah, I suppose I should have told you myself. There is no dance class today, it seems Gunter wasn’t able to come to work.”

Gunter had never missed a day of work. Even when he was ill he would come in, claiming that dancing would make him recover faster. This wasn’t right. “How come?” he asked.

“Well, it would seem he isn’t feeling well,” Buster answered simply.

“But… tha’ never usually stops him.”

“This time is a bit different, Johnny,” Rosita spoke up. “He’s not exactly ill, he just… isn’t in the right frame of mind.”

This just confused Johnny. Gunter had never appeared anything but happy. Was Rosita suggesting Gunter had a mental illness, or just that he was upset about something? “I don’ understand,” he thought aloud, unable to stop himself.

“Don’t worry about it, Johnny,” Buster said, his smile also looking a little forced. “Just go home and get some rest, start fresh tomorrow morning.”

A knot was beginning to form in Johnny’s stomach. Buster was telling him not to worry, but by the way they were both acting he couldn’t help it. They were hiding something, how could he possibly consider going home?

“Did something happen?” Johnny asked.

Buster and Rosita exchanged glances. They didn’t want to upset or worry Johnny, but it was clear they were already doing just that. Rosita gave Buster an imploring look and, after taking a moment to think it over, he nodded, giving her the go ahead to explain.

“There was… an incident, over the weekend,” she began, trying to choose her words carefully. “Gunter had invited myself and Norman to visit a club we sometimes go to. While we were there, Gunter had a… disagreement with one of the other animals there.”

“A disagreement?” Johnny seethed, unaware of how quickly his blood began to boil. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. So help him, if anyone had tried picking a fight with Gunter they would be sorry.

“Oh no, not that kind of disagreement!” Rosita hurriedly explained. “The other man upset Gunter, but there was no violence, I promise.”

“Oh.” It didn’t do much to calm Johnny, the thought of someone upsetting Gunter still annoyed him. “So, what happened after that?”

“He went home, alone. Norman and I wanted to walk him home, but he insisted. And he hasn’t been answering his phone since then.” She looked down at her phone which she still held in her hands, still hoping to get some sort of reply.

“Did… did he make it home alrigh’?” Johnny ventured. He didn’t like the sound of this. Gunter was left to walk home alone, from a bar which meant he was possibly drunk, and late at night. The conditions couldn’t have been less safe no matter how low the local crime rate might be.

“We weren’t very far from his apartment, so I’m sure he would have made it back safely. I… did call the hospital to be certain, though,” she admitted. “The bar is only a few blocks away from the dance studio.”

“The dance studio?” Johnny repeated, coming to a realisation. “So tha’ means Gunter lives in the apartment above it?”

Rosita nodded, answering the question Johnny had forgotten to ask Gunter himself. He did indeed live above the studio, as he’d thought a few days ago.

“Judging by what Rosita has told me, it was all likely a misunderstanding,” Buster tried reassuring. “Gunter seems to take certain things to heart, though, and this seems to have affected him. I’m sure he’ll be back within a couple of days, after taking some time to think on it.”

The smile Buster offered was much brighter than the one before and it was hard not to trust it. Johnny still had his doubts, however, and they won out.

“So wha’ was this… disagreement about?” he pressed. It still wasn’t making a whole lot of sense.

Buster’s smile fell and Rosita looked solemn. Johnny turned his gaze to Rosita, realising she was the one more likely to offer a truthful answer. For a moment, nobody spoke. Johnny’s gaze continued to burn into Rosita until finally, shaking her head, she spoke up.

“I’m sorry, Johnny,” she said, meeting his gaze with eyes that threatened to shed tears at any moment. “I can’t say, Gunter wouldn’t want me to. He was already embarrassed enough that night.” Knowing why Johnny was expressing so much concern for Gunter, it hurt far more than she thought it would to withhold anything from him. She was awfully fond of Johnny, as she was with all of the younger performers, considering them her ‘theatre children’. But Johnny probably held the biggest place in her heart of them all, if she admitted to herself that she had a favourite.

Johnny frowned, clearly not happy to have his question unanswered. But considering it was Rosita, who he knew would never do anything to intentionally upset someone without good reason, he accepted it. “Alrigh’,” he sighed.

“I’m sorry,” Rosita repeated.

“Nah, don’t be,” Johnny said, giving her his best smile. He didn’t want to see Rosita upset over this. Rosita returned the smile, thankful that he had accepted her answer. “So… he hasn’t been answering his phone?” he said.

“No,” Rosita said, looking down at her phone again. “He was quite upset, though, so I don’t think there’s much reason to worry.”

She was right, of course, but it didn’t stop Johnny from worrying anyway. Or her, for that matter. Johnny thought for a moment before an idea came to him.

“Why don’t I try his apartment?”

Rosita and Buster both looked at him quizzically.

“I mean, we’re all goin’ home anyway, and it’s on the way to my place.”

“Johnny, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I don’t think that’s gonna work,” Buster said. “If he’s not answering his phone, I doubt he’s going to answer his door.”

“It’s worth a shot, though,” Johnny shrugged.

“Perhaps, but-”

Rosita placed a hand on Buster’s shoulder, cutting him off. She looked up at Johnny with a smile. “I think that’s a lovely idea, Johnny.”

“Righ’, well, I’ll do that then,” Johnny said, nodding as though confirming the idea to himself as much as the others. “And if he answers I’ll call you so you know he’s OK.”

“Thank you,” Rosita said.

“Good luck,” Buster added. Despite his earlier objection, Buster did seem genuine when he said this, which made Johnny more confident.

He honestly had no idea what he could say to cheer Gunter up, if he even did get an answer. He didn’t know what caused Gunter to be upset, but he figured at least showing up could help.

Before he had the chance to talk himself out of it, Johnny bid his farewell and left the theatre. He hadn’t brought his skateboard today but, given the short distance to the studio, he didn’t need it. Within five minutes he was already approaching the studio. Before going to the side door he took a quick peek into the studio, in case he happened to be teaching a class. The lights were all off and there was no activity as far as he could see. It was a time that Gunter should have been at the theatre, so of course there was no-one in there, but Johnny figured it couldn’t hurt to check. Turning his attention back to the side door, he approached and brought a hand up to ring the bell. He paused before pressing it, however. Again, he was struck with the realisation that he had no idea what to say. In fact, he was wondering why he was even here. Why would Gunter even be willing to speak to him if he didn’t want to speak to Rosita or Buster? Perhaps his feelings towards Gunter had influenced his decision to try visiting. Perhaps he shouldn’t have come here.

Johnny shook his head, dismissing the thoughts. He was here now, whether it was a good idea or a bad one he was at least going to try. He rang the bell and waited a moment. He wasn’t able to hear it, but given that it was upstairs he figured he probably shouldn’t be able to. He shuffled awkwardly, wondering how long he should wait before trying again. He didn’t know how many stairs there were leading up to the apartment, or even how it was arranged. Perhaps it would take a while for Gunter to answer.

After a couple of minutes, Johnny finally deemed it long enough to try again. After another minute there was still no answer. He tried once more, pressing his ear up against the door. He heard the bell this time, faintly, which meant it was working. Beyond that he didn’t hear anything else. He next tried knocking on the door. It was a firm couple of knocks, loud enough to be heard from upstairs. Still, there was no answer.

Johnny sighed, taking a step back to try and peer through the windows above for any sign of movement. There was none. He knocked on the door once more, harder this time. It was beginning to feel hopeless now. If Gunter wasn’t going to answer then there was nothing Johnny could do. Of course, it was possible that there was nobody in there, but given that Gunter hadn’t showed up at work, he doubted the pig would have gone out anywhere else. Johnny was definitely being ignored, just as Rosita and Buster were.

Noting the mail slot in the door, Johnny had one more idea. He crouched down, opening the flap and looking through, confirming that Gunter was at the very least nowhere near the door. That wasn’t going to deter him, however.

“Gunter?” he said in a slightly raised voice, mouth close to the slot to try and make himself heard clearly. He waited a moment to see if that got any reaction and, not receiving one, he continued. “Gunter, it’s me, Johnny. Look, we’re all worried about ya mate. I don’t know exactly what happened at the club the other night, Rosita wouldn’t tell me, but she said someone upset you.” He sighed, not sure what to say next, but did his best to carry on anyway. “I’m… sorry that happened to you. I don’t know what it was about, but it’s obviously really hurt you. If… if you don’t wanna come to the door, that’s fine, but do me a favour, yeah? Give Rosita a call. She just wants to know you’re OK. We all do.”

There wasn’t really much else Johnny could think to say. After a brief pause which still yielded no answer, he figured it would be best to just go home. “Well, uhh… I’m gonna go. I hope you feel better soon.” He cursed himself for how stupid that last line sounded, as though Gunter were ill. He closed the flap and stood up straight, stretching out his back. He could have left it at that, but he suddenly thought of something else. Perhaps a bit of humour was called for. He crouched down and opened the slot again. “Oh, and Gunter? Just let me know if I need to punch someone. Alrigh’, I’m off now.”

Johnny hoped that would do the trick, but without seeing Gunter for himself he couldn’t be sure. In all honesty he probably wouldn’t punch anyone no matter how angry he was, not unless he had to, but it could at least be a fun thought. He began to walk back home, taking one last look at the apartment door before rounding the corner onto the next street. He was still worried, but at least happy to have had the chance to try helping. He just hoped to see Gunter at the theatre tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

Gunter had been trying desperately to ignore the noise at his door, just as he had been doing with his phone. Not knowing who it was at first he cursed them for their persistence. As soon as Johnny began speaking, however, he stopped being annoyed. He listened, even. He felt guilty that he had worried everyone, although he knew that wasn’t the point of what Johnny was saying. The point was that they _cared_.

He had animals who cared about him. Who were worried enough to try and visit him at home after only one day of being absent at work. Who were worried enough to leave him… over forty missed calls and nearly as many messages, now that he decided to check. They were all from Rosita, Norman and Buster, though he was sure his other castmates would have done the same if they had his number. His eyes welled with tears, realising how lucky he was to have such caring animals in his life. Far luckier than he deserved to be.

No, that wasn’t the way to think. He was lucky, and that was that. He’d already spent too long feeling sorry for himself for a relatively trivial reason, all things considered. He unlocked his phone, following Johnny’s request and pulling up Rosita’s number, finally ready to send her a reply. Tomorrow would be a new day and he planned to start fresh, putting all of this behind him.


	6. A Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance to my readers outside of the UK if things get a little too British here. Since I picture Big Daddy/Marcus having lived a significantly larger portion of his life in London than Johnny did I figure he's probably gonna be busting out a lot more of the lingo than Johnny would. (Also I maybe used too many apostrophes, please let me know if it's too distracting and I'll dial it down in future.)

Johnny couldn’t remember the last time he got himself this worked up. Sweat dripped from his brow as a grunt escaped his lips, wet hair falling into his eyes as he gritted his teeth and tensed his muscles. He kept a firm grip on his tool and started tugging just a little harder. He was almost there, just a little more and he would finally feel the release he so desperately desired.

“Yes!” he cried out. The bolt finally came loose and he was able to turn it counter-clockwise a few times before removing it from its casing.

Ash simply snickered, having watched the entire scene play out in front of her. Things had been going well for the young ape when he first got under the hood of the car, taking several things apart with ease, but this particular snag he hit had him stuck for a short while.

“Fuckin’ finally,” Johnny muttered, throwing the wrench he was holding into a tray as he eyed up the rusty bolt he’d just removed.

“Wow, you finally got a bolt loose, it only took you, like, ten minutes,” Ash commented dryly, offering a half-hearted round of applause.

“Oi, this bloody thing was awkward,” he said, holding it up triumphantly. “I’d love to’ve seen you do better.”

“No, no, far be it from me to argue with the professional,” she replied, raising her hands up defensively.

“Anyway, this was prob’ly the most difficult part. The rest should be a breeze.” As he spoke Johnny removed the casing of the headlamp unit, detaching a few wires and setting it aside.

“And all you’re doing is replacing a few bulbs?” Ash asked, eyeing up the car suspiciously. The car looked a mess, the front having been taken apart almost completely. Granted, she had never replaced any before, but the few times she’d seen it done it didn’t seem nearly as complex.

“Yeah. This model’s a bit… weird. They make everythin’ so complicated. Usually changing a bulb would take a few minutes, bu’ with this one it’s closer to half an hour, if you know wha’ you’re doing. You have to practically take the whole front of the car apart to do it, as you can see.”

Below the tray of the unit Johnny had thrown the wrench into were several drawers, one of which he reached into to fetch the new bulbs. Ash continued to watch for a moment before letting out a loud yawn.

“You don’ have to stay here, y’know,” Johnny commented.

“Sorry, it’s just… this is so _boring_.” She hopped down from the small pile of tyres she’d taken a seat on and walked further into the garage. “I dunno how you do this every day. You still got some sodas in the fridge?”

“Yeah, should still be a couple in there,” he called over to her as she rummaged through the fridge. “And I don’t do this _every_  day you know.”

She located the last two cans and pulled them out, kicking the fridge closed and making her way back out to Johnny. “Really? Business not booming?” she asked, handing a can to Johnny which he gratefully accepted.

“No’ really,” he shrugged. “Not since, y’know… word got out.”

“Oh.” She should have figured. It didn’t take long for gossip to get around and Johnny’s father’s incarceration, as well as Johnny’s link to him, was quickly established amongst their customers.

“I mean, we didn’ have many customers to begin with, but when they heard about wha’ dad did… most of ‘em got scared off.”

“Yeesh, sorry big guy, I didn’t know.” Ash pulled the tab on her can and took a long swig, the cold drink a welcome relief from the heat of the beating sun.

“Eh, it is what it is.” Rather than opening his can, Johnny pressed it to his head, sighing contentedly. Ash giggled at the sight. “Wha’?” he said.

“Nothing, nothing. Just, y’know, most animals _drink_  soda rather than trying it out as a hat.”

“Shut up,” he chuckled. “That bolt was _really_  hard work.”

“Sure seemed like it. It certainly got some… interesting noises out of you.”

“Oi!” Johnny flushed furiously.

“Relax Johnny, I’m just messing around,” she smirked before taking another swig of her soda.

“Yeah, well, you missed out on your chance to find out what _those_  kind of noises sound like,” he smirked back, opening his can and drinking it as he heard the satisfying sound of Ash’s drink being spat out.

“What the… actual fuck, Johnny,” Ash sputtered in a mixture of coughing and laughing.

“You started it.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect you to have such a good comeback.”

Johnny simply snorted. There was another joke there and they both knew it, but fortunately Johnny was good enough not to voice it. It was too crude and far too lazy. Their sense of humour was better than that… mostly.

“Anyway, once this one’s done the next one’ll take me a couple hours,” Johnny said, pointing to the other car parked next to the one he was working on. “After that I’m headin’ out to see dad, but I could spare a bit of time before startin’ on it. You wanna catch something on TV before you bounce?”

“I’d love to but I really oughta get going in a minute. This gig is a pretty big deal, it might become something regular and I really want to make a good impression.”

Johnny nodded, taking another sip of his soda before setting the can aside and picking up the headlamp casing. “A’right, just gimme like, ten minutes and I’ll have this done.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I can give you a ride.”

This time Ash snorted at the not-so-hidden joke. Johnny just rolled his eyes.

“You don’t have to do that, it’s only a ten minute walk,” she said.

“Call it a thank you for keepin’ me company,” he shrugged. “Today woulda been a lot less interestin’ if you hadn’t come over.”

“I _am_  pretty good company.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Ash just poked her tongue out as Johnny laughed and set about finishing his work. A few replaced bulbs and one new bolt later Johnny shut the hood and locked the car up, brushing his hands off on his coveralls.

“Right, gimme a sec to change outta this and we can get goin’,” he said, heading back into the garage.

“Hey, don’t mind me, you can strip here if you prefer,” Ash said, grinning widely.

“Yeah, I’m sure you’d like that,” he called out, grabbing his pants and jacket before making his way to the bathroom. He quickly stripped out of the coveralls and into his pants, already wearing his shirt. As he stepped out he hung the coveralls, shrugged on his jacket and fished his keys out of his pocket. “And you wonder why everyone’s shocked when they hear it was _you_  who turned _me_  down,” he teased as he passed Ash, grabbing her guitar case on his way to the truck.

“Big difference between wanting to date your hunky best friend and wanting to see him half-naked,” she shrugged as she followed.

“Oh, so you’re sayin’ I’m hunky?” he asked with a raised eyebrow, setting the guitar case down in the bed of the truck and tying it into place.

“Yep,” she said matter-of-factly. The two got into the truck and belted up, Johnny turning the key in the ignition. Once the engine came to life the truck pulled away and they were off on their way to the restaurant Ash would be playing at.

“Well, uhh… thanks, I guess?” Johnny said.

“No problem, hot stuff.”

“OK, now I know you’re just takin’ the piss,” he chuckled.

“Fine, fine. But you know, if ever you have your eye on someone then you should totally go for it. They’re not gonna say no.”

“Yeah… I don’ think it’s that simple.”

“Sure it is.”

“Oh, so you’re saying if I have my eye on someone, he’ll like me back?”

“Wait, ‘he’?”

Johnny’s eyes widened. Without even looking at her he knew Ash was grinning at him with an all too knowing look. “O-Or she!”

“Nuh-uh, too late. You like someone,” Ash practically sang. “So come on, spill it. Is this guy someone I know?”

“Oh hey, look at that, we’re here already!” he replied a little too loudly, pulling the truck up to the sidewalk outside the restaurant.

“Johnny…”

The gorilla sighed, finally turning to face Ash. “Look, I… I don’t know. I don’t know how I feel about him.”

“Still early days, huh?”

“Yeah. Plus, I don’t think he feels the same way.”

“You don’t _think_? Well don’t wait too long to find out, big guy! You never know how long a good guy will stay single for, _trust me_.”

“Oh? Had your eye on someone yourself then?”

Ash shrugged. “Maybe. But it didn’t work out. I waited too long, so make sure you don’t!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“So… do I know who it is?”

“No,” Johnny said unconvincingly. Ash looked suspicious but decided to drop it. At least for now.

“Well, better get going,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt. When Johnny went about doing the same Ash stopped him. “Don’t worry, I’ll grab the guitar. Thanks for the ride.”

“No problem.”

Ash climbed out of the truck, reaching into the bed and untying her guitar case. With it in hand she waved Johnny off. “See you later, Johnny.”

“Later,” he replied, waving back before driving off.

All teasing aside, Johnny did find it both amusing and strange that Ash was offering him romantic advice. He almost felt that Ash was still guilty for turning down his advances, despite his assurances that he was fine with it. He watched her entering the restaurant through his rear view mirror before refocusing on the road ahead of him. Perhaps he could take her advice and be brave enough to approach Gunter, if only he knew for sure how he felt about him. And if it wasn’t too late. He’d already mentioned dating, after all.

With a heavy sigh he made his way back to the garage. The rest of the day’s work wasn’t going to go by quickly.

 

* * *

 

Calatonia State Prison. No matter how many times he saw the stale grey walls Johnny would never find them any more welcoming. He supposed that was the point, though, jails weren’t really known for their warm atmosphere. But there was warmth there, a warmth he would keep coming here to see as often as he could; his ever-doting father. Far more attentive than he’d ever been before his incarceration, but he couldn’t complain, it was a nicer side to his father he didn’t ever wish to lose.

Ignoring the nagging feeling of guilt that always plagued him as he set foot in the building, Johnny made his way over to the reception, stated his name and his father’s name to the officer at the desk and proceeded to the visitation room entrance. He took off his jacket and handed it to another officer for inspection, stepped through the metal detector and then allowed himself to be frisked. Seeing nothing worthy of barring his entry, the officers allowed him into the room. It was an ordeal he could do without, but it was always worth it to see his father, no matter how painfully short the visitation times were. He’d made a promise, to his father and to himself, and he would keep it. It allowed him at least a small reprieve from his guilt.

Johnny was directed to a booth and he took a seat, picking up the phone in preparation despite his father not yet being there. He could vaguely make out his own reflection in the glass before him, noting how tired he looked. Perhaps a nap would be in order when this was over. Not that he wanted it to be over, he would give anything to spend the day with his father.

A small commotion came from the corner of the room, on the other side of the glass, and Johnny watched as a small line of prisoners filed in along with a couple of officers. Trailing behind them all was one who looked much larger than the others, a larger, more gruff version of Johnny himself. He was smiling as soon as he caught sight of Johnny though, who smiled back, offering a small wave. He took a seat opposite Johnny and picked up the phone, wasting no time to begin conversation.

“Johnny, it’s great to see you,” Marcus said. “It’s been a long week, been lookin’ forward to this. ‘ow are ya?”

“Yeah, I’m good dad, how ‘bout you?”

“Ah, y’know, still locked up,” he laughed. “I’m kiddin’,” he added, noticing how Johnny’s smile fell.

“I know.”

“Well lighten up a little, would ya? Wha’s the matter?”

“Nothin’ dad, just… nothing.” He attempted to smile again but it didn’t fool Marcus.

“Look, son, we’ve been over this, yeah? You gotta stop blamin’ yourself. It was _our_  plan tha’ got us in ‘ere, not yours.”

“Yeah, I know. Jus’ can’t help it sometimes, y’know?”

“I know,” Marcus nodded, smile falling. He looked his son over before speaking up again. “You’re lookin’ a little… smaller than last time I saw ya. You eatin’ right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You know you can sell the garage off if you’re strugglin’ to get by.”

“No, it’s fine. Just a bit of a slow week for business, s’all.”

Marcus grunted in disapproval. He really wished Johnny would look after himself better but there was nothing he could do about it. He knew his son wouldn’t dare consider selling the garage, what with it being the address that he, Barry and Stan would be registered to upon their release, as well as a source of guaranteed employment.

“Dad, I’m fine, honest. I’ve gotten by this long, right?”

“Well, alright, long as you’re sure. ‘ow about that theatre, they not payin’ you any more?”

“Not right now, no. We’re between shows. It’s prob’ly gonna be a few months.”

“So wha’, that director o’ yours ain’t got a show on an’ he’s just gonna leave ya skint?”

“That… is how it works, yeah,” Johnny chuckled. “He isn’t gonna pay us if we’re not workin’.”

“Well he oughta hurry up an’ get that new show on, then. Been nothin’ worth watching on the telly since the last one.”

“Pfft, never thought I’d see the day when all you wanted to watch was a musical.”

“Oi, you know it’s different when I got you to watch up on stage. You’re really somethin’, ya know? An’ I get to tell everyone ‘ere that you’re my son.”

“And that actually gets you respect?”

“Damn right it does! And you know Stan an’ Barry are chuffed to bits seein’ ya make it, too. We’re all proud of you, son.”

“Thanks dad. Actually, there was somethin’ I wanted to tell you.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“Well, I’m learnin’ to dance for the next show. Mr. Moon reckons it’ll give us new opportunities, so if we all decide to stay in theatre we can do more and become more successful.”

“Yeah? You gonna become one of those Broadway stars then? Just be careful, plenty o’ guys there might be lookin’ to take advantage of a young man like you,” he snickered.

Johnny frowned, clearly not as amused as his father. “Yeah, I… don’ think that’s somethin’ I need to worry about.”

“Hey, all I’m sayin’ is there’s gonna be a lotta queers there and you should watch your back.”

“Dad, enough.”

“Well, maybe not your back, but your backside, definitely.”

“ ** **Stop!**** ”

Marcus immediately fell silent, looking at his son curiously. “Well, what’re you bein’ so defensive for? Not like you’re one of ‘em.”

Johnny’s anger subsided, immediately being replaced with fear. He looked away, panicked. He’d backed himself into a corner and wasn’t quick enough to think of an excuse for his outburst. His father would figure it out now. Of all the ways he imagined coming out to Marcus, this wasn’t it. He’d even toyed with the idea of never doing it. He’d almost lost his father once, he didn’t want to risk it again.

The pieces clicked into place quite quickly for Marcus. He went through a series of emotions as he contemplated what he had just discovered about his son, eventually settling on confusion. “Wait, but… I don’ understand, Johnny. That girl you work with, you said you fell for her, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Johnny replied timidly.

“But… wha’, you’re into men now?”

“I, uhh…”

Marcus frowned. He didn’t understand what was going on. “Well, which is it then?”

Johnny finally turned to meet his father’s gaze. He didn’t look quite as angry as Johnny expected, but certainly still angry. “I… I, uhh…”

“Well?” Marcus said more sternly.

“Uhh… both.”

“Wha’? Both? What do you mean, _both_?”

“I mean, I like both, dad.”

Marcus just became more confused. Was it possible to like both men and women? He’d heard some animals go by the label of ‘bisexual’ before, but they were just kids who were confused or wanted attention, weren’t they?

The silence stretched on between the two apes and threatened to consume the rest of their time together. Aware of this, Marcus decided to speak up, wanting to get to the bottom of this. “So you’re… one o’ those… bisexuals?”

Johnny nodded, looking away again.

“So, uhh… that’s… that’s a real thing, is it?”

Johnny turned back to his father. That wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. “Uhh, yeah dad. That’s a real thing.”

“Huh. I always thought… well, never mind.” He watched his son for a moment, noting the fear that was still lingering in his eyes. He didn’t want to see Johnny like that. He didn’t exactly understand how being bisexual worked, but he supposed he didn’t really have to. He just had to accept it. “Well, my son’s a bisexual then,” he said simply, giving a small shrug of his shoulders.

Johnny sighed in relief. He’d prepared for many outcomes but was overjoyed to receive this one. Marcus wasn’t rejecting it, nor was he making a big deal out of accepting it. It was just a fact.

“Look, Johnny, I don’t really understand it, but I’ll try,” Marcus assured. “An’ it doesn’t make me love you any less.”

“Thanks, dad.”

“No need to thank me, s’what bein’ a good father is about, right?” He offered Johnny a bright smile, one his son returned eagerly. “So… wha’ made ya realise it, then? You got a bloke you’re thinkin’ of trying to pull?”

“Uhh… maybe?” he replied bashfully. “It’s kinda complicated.”

“Ain’t no ‘complicated’ ‘bout it,” Marcus laughed. “Ya go after ‘im, and either he’s interested or he’s not. Simple as that.”

“Yeah, sure, simple.”

“Things not go well with tha’ Ash girl you were keen on?” He remembered how enamoured his son seemed to be with the girl, and honestly couldn’t blame him. She was an impressive singer too, and seemingly a feisty young lady.

“Uh, no, that… didn’t really work out.”

“Tha’ right?” he said, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. “Reckon she’s into older blokes?”

“Ew, dad, gross.”

Marcus burst out laughing. It wasn’t often he could embarrass his son so any time he could was a victory. “Well, ya can’t blame your old man for tryin’.”

“Ugh…”

“Wrap it up, inmates!” one of the officers announced. “Visitation is over.”

“Already?” Johnny whined.

“Well, at least you can start plannin’ on ‘ow you’re gonna pull this fella you’re after,” Marcus smirked.

“Ew, dad, stop sayin’ it like that.”

Marcus ignored him. “And hey, if things don’t work out with this bloke, at least now ya got twice the options. Some might say you’re bein’ greedy.”

“Dad…”

“I’m just screwin’ with ya son.”

“I know,” Johnny beamed. It was nice and more than a little relieving to know his father was already comfortable enough to make a playful jab at his sexuality.

The two looked around, seeing Marcus was the last prisoner left at the booths. The officers looked impatient, but were too intimidated to hurry the large ape along. In all honesty they didn’t make particularly effective corrections officers, though Johnny figured there probably weren’t many animals who _would_  be brave enough to be effective against his father.

“Righ’, s’pose I oughta get goin’,” Marcus said, gesturing towards the officers. “Can’t make ‘em feel too bad. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah, see you soon,” Johnny replied solemnly. Time was up now and it was always too soon. It never hurt any less to have to say goodbye.

“I love you, Johnny, remember that.”

Johnny smiled, albeit weakly. “I love you too, dad.”

“And get some kip, ya look bloody knackered.”

“Will do.”

With a final nod, Marcus got up and walked back over to the exit, the officers following him out. Johnny also got up to leave as soon as his father was out of sight, albeit at a much slower pace. He didn’t want to leave, he never wanted to leave. But without his father to talk to it was pointless to stay. He tried to keep control of himself until he left the jail and climbed into his truck, finally giving in and breaking down in tears. There was so much to unpack in the conversation he’d just had with Marcus and not nearly enough time to do it. It felt so unfair and again he felt the nagging feeling of guilt. No matter how much his father tried to convince him otherwise, he would always see it as his fault that Marcus was in there.

Visitation hours were never enough and it was still going to be years before he could finally bring his father home. Their relationship had only grown in the two years he’d been in jail and Marcus almost felt like his best friend as much as he was his father. It just wasn’t fair and there was nothing he could do about it.

After taking a moment to finally compose himself he turned on the ignition, beginning the short but lonely drive home. As much as it pained him, he tried to remind himself that it was only temporary. Soon it wouldn’t just be him living at the garage, but his father, and possibly Stan and Barry too. Like old times, minus the crime. He looked forward to it. It just couldn’t come soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry for the beginning of the chapter. I've always been a sucker for the fake-out 'naughty' narration that I've seen others write, so I wanted to try it out too. I saw my opportunity and I took it, hehe.


	7. Another Idea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I must apologise for missing last week's update. There was a lot going on outside of work, a close family member was in hospital (nothing too serious!) who I visited quite often and I was left severely short on spare time, most of which I felt too burnt out to write anything. This update is a little longer than previous chapters so I hope that makes up for it.
> 
> I've created a tumblr (donansen) and a twitter (@DonovanAnsen) if anyone would like to give those a follow. I haven't done anything with them yet, but I'll likely post there if ever I think I'll miss an update in future, as much as I hope I won't.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the update!

He may have decided it best to take one more day off from the theatre, but Gunter was determined to get things at least mostly back to normal. He fetched his keys and left his apartment, ready to open his studio to the evening’s classes. He could only hope there were no animals that were too disappointed in missing a class or two.

Leaving his apartment for the first time in days gave him the sudden realisation of quite how bright the sun was, even as it was setting. Perhaps keeping the curtains closed to block out as much of the world as he could wasn’t such a good idea. Perhaps shutting himself in his apartment for the past couple of days wasn’t such a good idea either, but that was neither here nor there.

He locked his apartment, took the three steps to the door of his studio and unlocked it, flicked on the light switches and walked in. He was already dressed in his tracksuit ready for the class so all he head to do was prepare the music. It didn’t take long for his first lot of students to begin filing in for the class. It passed by uneventfully, a couple of them expressed concern over the studio’s closure but were pacified with an apology and a simple excuse.

As the animals from his first class left, more entered ready for his second. Among them were Carl and Aaron, arguably two of his loudest and most outspoken students. They weren’t going to be as easy to brush off.

“Gunter, we missed ya!” Carl’s voice boomed the moment he set foot in the studio. “What happened, why were you closed the past couple days?”

“We didn’t see anything posted on your page,” Aaron added, holding up his phone.

“Ja, I am sorry, I was a little ill. I forgot to update the website.”

“A little ill?” Carl repeated. “Dude, you’ve never closed down because you were ill. Hell, you could break both your legs and you’d still open for the day!” he chuckled.

“Well, I just… I wasn’t feeling my best.”

“Because you were ‘a little ill’?” Carl said dubiously.

Gunter shuffled his feet uncomfortably. This really wasn’t something he wanted to get into.

“Carl, maybe you should just drop it,” Aaron said, clasping his hand on the bull’s shoulder.

“Aww, but I just wanted to know what was up…” he whined.

“Gunter wasn’t feeling well, but now he’s better, right?” the rhino said, looking to Gunter.

“Yes, zat is how it is,” Gunter nodded.

“Okay, okay,” Carl said, dropping the subject and taking his place in the room.

“Thank you,” Gunter added as Aaron made his own way over. Aaron simply nodded in response.

With the conversation averted Gunter was able to enjoy the rest of the class. For once Carl had been able to successfully stay on his feet throughout their exercises and the students were now dancing as they’d been instructed. Gunter made his rounds ensuring everyone was doing so correctly, and more importantly having fun. At first he tried to avoid Carl, but he figured it wouldn’t be fair to exclude him simply because he wanted to avoid talking about something he was unlikely to ask about again. He approached Carl who seemed to be having a bit of a problem with his footwork, and after a moment’s further instruction the bull was beginning to get the hang of it.

“Say, when was that Johnny guy gonna be here again?” Carl asked as he continued to dance.

“Oh, he vill be here again Friday night,” Gunter responded.

“Remember he said last Friday?” Aaron said.

“Oh yeah, right after you freaked him out?” Carl smirked.

“Hey, can’t help it if the guy’s hot. Gotta let him know I think so.”

“Haah, this is why I do the talking…”

“Oh, ‘cause you’re so smooth."

Gunter giggled. Every conversation between the two went like this and it never got old.

“Still, it’s a shame he can’t be here more often,” Carl mused.

“It is,” Aaron and Gunter both answered.

Aaron turned to Gunter with a raised eyebrow, along with Carl. “Not like _that_ ,” Gunter defended. “I am just thinking it vould be good for him to get some more practice.”

“And it’d be good to see those muscles work some more, huh?” Aaron added, giving Gunter a playful nudge.

“Honestly, is that all you think about?” Carl butted in.

“S’all you think about.”

“Yeah, fair,” he shrugged. “Anyway, Gunter, you work with him. You should tell him to come more often next time you’re at the theatre!”

Gunter pondered this for a moment. It would be nice to have the young ape around more often. He’d certainly had a profound effect on him yesterday. Something about him was just so positive and it was nice to be around. He did also want Johnny to get as much practice as possible, particularly if his classes at the studio would build his confidence more.

“Ja, I think I will…”

 

* * *

 

The sight of the theatre was almost imposing to Gunter as he approached. He knew he was going to have questions to answer, mostly from Buster, and he wasn’t sure he felt up to answering them. He didn’t have long to worry about that, though, as Rosita burst through the doors and came running towards him.

“Gunter!” Rosita cried as she half-tackled, half-hugged the younger pig. “I was so worried about you,” she said, tightening her grip.

“Ja, I know, I am so sorry Rosita,” Gunter said, returning the hug.

“It’s alright, I’m just glad to know you’re okay.”

The two broke the hug, but Rosita kept a grip on Gunter’s shoulders, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

“Just please, promise me you won’t run off like that again. Or at least return my calls. I was worried you might not have made it back home safely.”

“It vas only a short walk,” he defended.

“I know, but it didn’t stop me worrying.”

Indeed, Rosita’s eyes appeared wet as though the concern she must have felt that night was beginning to return, and Gunter felt immensely guilty for it.

“I promise,” he said.

“Thank you.” She didn’t remove her hands and after a moment she pulled him in for another hug. “I’m so sorry for what I did that night. I didn’t mean for you to be upset.”

“No, no, do not be sorry, it wasn’t your fault.”

“And it wasn’t your fault either,” she added, pulling away again.

“Ja, it is like Norman was saying, it vas that jerk at the club.”

“That’s right. He was a fool to think he could find a better catch than you, so don’t go thinking any differently.”

Gunter nodded. He wasn’t entirely convinced, but given that Rosita seemed dangerously close to going in for a third hug he thought it best to at least try to pretend to be. “I know, I know, I am a catch,” he said, puffing out his chest.

“Exactly. You can do a lot better than him, anyway. We might have thought he looked handsome but his personality left a lot to be desired. He didn’t deserve you.”

Again, Gunter nodded. He appreciated the assurances, but they weren’t what he needed now. He just wanted to get to work. Rosita noticed him looking over her shoulder towards the theatre and took the hint.

“Now, don’t worry about Mr. Moon, he shouldn’t have any questions about what happened. I explained everything.”

“You… you did?” Gunter said, alarmed. He was hoping to avoid having to explain everything to Buster not only because he didn’t want to have to actually do the explaining, but also because he didn’t want Buster to know everything. The whole ordeal was embarrassing enough as it was.

“Now don’t worry, I was very tactful. I explained there was a disagreement at the club and that you were upset by it, but I didn’t go into what was actually said.” The fact that Buster figured most of it out was not something Rosita wanted to say, however. “He might be a little worried about your mental health, though.”

“Oh, I see…” Gunter looked down shamefully. He hadn’t ever taken any efforts to fix his mental state. He had considered seeing a doctor once, but was too afraid to confront the fact that he may actually have some kind of mental illness.

“He’s worried because, well… how do I put this?”

“Zis isn’t something I should have missed work for?”

“Yes. But not because you missed work, he isn’t worried about that, he’s worried about _you_. He knows how passionate you are about work, so to not come in to the theatre when you should have…” Rosita trailed off, seeing Gunter become more upset. She was sure he had already gotten the point. “Would you like me to speak to him instead?” she offered.

Gunter shook his head. “No, no… I should speak to him about this. But… just not today, if you could tell him that? I vould just like to get back to normal for now.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

Rosita nodded before leading the way into the theatre. “I’ll go talk to him now and you head over to the practice room. I’ll be there in just a few minutes.”

“Okay.”

Gunter watched as Rosita headed up the stairs to Buster’s office before making his way through the backstage area. He saw Ash and Meena in their own practice rooms along the way. They both offered a smile and a wave but made no move to come out to talk to him, for which he was thankful. If he didn’t want to talk to Buster about what happened, who had already been informed, he certainly didn’t want to try explaining to anyone else right now.

Once in their practice room, Gunter quickly stripped off his tracksuit, his unitard already worn underneath as it always was. He prepared the music on the boombox and awaited Rosita’s return.

After a few minutes, Rosita entered, having already changed into her own unitard. “Okay, big guy, ready to go?”

“You bet!” Gunter replied enthusiastically, pressing the ‘play’ button as he began swaying to the beat. It already felt good to be getting back to what he loved doing, with someone who cared enough to make sure he could. “Let’s do this!”

 

* * *

 

“Rosita! Gunter! Quick cast meeting in the break room, five minutes.”

The two pigs looked over to the smiling koala in the doorway, surprised to have had their practice interrupted. So surprised that it took them a moment to realise that Gunter was still holding Rosita in a dip.

“A meeting? What for?” Rosita asked, raising herself up and shutting off the boombox so that they could hear more clearly.

“It’s a surprise!” Buster practically sang as he made his way to the next room over.

Rosita and Gunter exchanged glances, both just as confused as each other.

“So much for getting back to normal,” Gunter said.

“I think, for Mr. Moon, this is normal,” Rosita giggled.

Gunter laughed at this. Of course, she was right, Buster loved nothing more than springing surprises on his cast. “I suppose we should see what zis is about, then.”

Rosita and Gunter both grabbed a jacket to cover up with, not wanting to sit around the break room in nothing but their unitards. It would be too cold and, for Rosita at least, far too immodest for a meeting. Meena and Mike were already walking ahead of them, and as they entered the break room, Ash and Johnny filed in behind.

“What’s all the fuss about, Moon?” Ash complained. “I was just getting the hang of this riff I’ve been struggling weeks with for my new song.”

“Yes, well, I have big news for you all,” Buster announced proudly. “Eddie, if you would?”

From behind the koala Eddie stepped into view, holding what looked like a very large rolled up poster.

“Oh, Eddie! It’s good to see you again,” Meena said, smiling wide and offering a wave.

“Thanks, at least someone noticed,” Eddie smiled back.

“Wait, if Eddie’s here,” Ash said, “then that means-”

“Ah! Shh, don’t spoil it now,” Buster cut in.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Eddie began, holding the poster out in front of him, “we would like to present to you; All Is Fair.” He allowed the poster to unravel before him and held it up high.

The cast all looked at the poster. It was… interesting, to say the least. There was a lot going on in it and trying to get an idea of the plot from it was an impossible feat.

“What the heck is that god awful mess?” Mike said.

“Uhh… a poster? For Buster’s new show?” Eddie answered, peering around from behind it.

“Yeah, but what’s even… going on there?” Ash asked, gesturing with the hands. “It just looks like a big mess.”

“I’m glad you asked, though I could have done without the criticism,” Buster lightly chided. “Picture this!”

“Oh, here we go…” Mike muttered.

Buster gave an explanation of the show, one in which a man falls in love with a woman he cannot have. The explanation of the plot was long and convoluted and the complexities of it were lost on the three younger cast members. To Gunter, Mike and Rosita, who had more knowledge of theatre and musicals, the whole thing sounded like a horrible mash-up of musicals that had already been produced.

“This is your big idea?” Mike sneered.

“Yeah, well, Buster thinks it’s a good idea, anyway,” Eddie said, rolling his eyes.

“You’ll see, this will be different from my previous shows!” Buster defended. “We’re still working out the fine details of the story, but I promise you this will be a big hit.”

“Well yeah, we’ll be in it,” Ash smirked.

“Wait a minute, it all makes sense now,” Mike said. “ _This_  is why you’ve had us all learnin’ to dance.”

“Well… that, _and_  I still think you should have that skill under your belts, for the future.”

“Unbelievable!” Mike exclaimed, shaking his head.

“What are you complaining for? You were happy enough when you were doing better at it than all of us,” Ash snarked.

“I’m _still_  doin’ it better than all of ya, Spikes.”

“Watch it, rat!” she warned.

Mike was about to rare up on Ash for her insult but Eddie smoothly cut in before it could escalate any further. “Okay, okay, we get it, you’re both hot for each other. Now if you can both go get a room we can continue.”

Ash and Mike both glared at Eddie in response but he just shrugged casually, not at all intimidated. Johnny and Meena both laughed at the exchange before the glares were turned to them, which quickly shut them up.

“Now, this show is going to take a few months to prepare,” Buster continued. “We need costumes, set dressings and the like… We have the details of the show itself… ehh, _mostly_  worked out, but the music will come down to all of you. That won’t be for a little while, though, so for now you can continue doing what you’re doing. And of course, as you have guessed, there will be a lot of dancing involved. Again, we’ll have that worked out in a little while. Any questions?”

At first nobody seemed to have any questions about it. If the details hadn’t been completely ironed out yet then the questions would most likely come later. After a few seconds, however, Johnny timidly raised his hand.

“Yes Johnny?” Buster said.

Everyone turned to Johnny and he quickly slipped his hand back down. “Uhh… well, I was just wonderin’… How much dancing is gonna be involved, exactly?”

Buster smiled knowingly. “Johnny, you have nothing to worry about. You’ll all have plenty of time to practice before this show hits the stage and I have every faith that you’ll all perform commendably. Any other questions?”

“Tha’ didn’t really answer my question…” Johnny muttered, sighing.

Gunter looked over to Johnny, seeing the concern on his face. If anyone else had heard him they didn’t seem to take notice as nothing else was said.

“Well, if there are no other questions, then I will leave you all to it,” Buster said, smiling widely. “I’ll be in my office if anyone has anything to ask of me in the meantime, but for now you’re all free to go home for the day.”

With that, Buster left the break room, Eddie following behind whilst struggling to fold up the giant poster again. “Uhh… good luck, guys! I’m sure you’ll all do great!” he called out before leaving.

With them gone, the cast just looked to each other, not entirely sure what to make of all of this. It was the first show Buster had proposed that didn’t simply involve showcasing their voices. It was bound to happen, of course, but now that it had it left them feeling strangely uncertain.

“Well, I’m outta here,” Mike spoke up first. “If we got a little extra time off today then I’m gonna take Nancy out to dinner.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go too,” Ash said. “I _really_  want to get this riff down and I think I’ll have better luck doing it at home. Later, everyone.”

Mike and Ash both left the break room, Meena soon joining them.

“My mom has a function that she needs to cater for, and I think she could do with another pair of hands,” she explained before leaving. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

“Bye Meena,” Rosita said while Johnny and Gunter gave her a wave. Once she was gone Rosita turned back to Gunter. “What would you like to do, Gunter?” she asked. “I know you wanted to get back to the normal routine today.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” Gunter said. “I am thinking we got enough practice today if you vould like to go. I can head home and then open up ze studio later.”

“As long as you’re sure.”

Gunter nodded. “Thank you for everything, Rosita.”

“You’re very welcome.” She fiddled with her hands for a moment, still not certain if she wanted to leave yet. When Gunter gave her a reassuring look, though, she finally excused herself. “Well, I suppose I could prepare dinner for the kids early today. Just… take care, okay?”

“I will.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye Rosita!” Johnny finally spoke up.

Once Rosita finally left Gunter turned his attention to Johnny. “You were very quiet.”

“Oh, uhh… sorry.”

Gunter shook his head. “You do not need to be sorry. I can see you are worrying about this new show. You do not think you will be good enough to dance for it, no?”

Johnny sighed. “No… I’m sorry, I know you’re already trying to help me with the extra classes, it’s just… it’s a lot, y’know?”

“Ja, I am thinking it is perhaps a lot to take in. But do not look so worried, you will get better und better!”

“Yeah, I guess…”

The two fell silent for a moment as Johnny tried to rid himself of his nerves. He reasoned with himself that there was no need to worry about it for now. Buster _had_  said that the show would take months to prepare, there would be plenty of time to practice.

Besides, his own concerns shouldn’t have been the more pressing issue right now.

“How are you feelin’?” Johnny asked.

“Me? Oh, I am fine,” Gunter said, flashing a smile.

“Good. We, uhh… we were all worried about you.”

“I know. I am sorry for worrying you all so much.”

Johnny shook his head. “No need. We’re just happy to see ya back.”

“Thank you.”

Silence fell upon them again. As happy as Johnny was to see Gunter again, it was a little awkward. He probably knew more about what had happened over the weekend than Gunter would have liked, and Johnny didn’t want to pry any further if it was only going to make him uncomfortable.

“Anyway, I vas thinking we should exchange phone numbers,” Gunter spoke up. “It is crazy we are not already doing this!” He pulled out his phone and handed it to Johnny. “May I have yours?”

“M-My number?” Johnny repeated, blushing slightly. It wasn’t an unreasonable request, but it was a personal one. Now that the concern he held was put to rest a whole slew of other feelings were beginning to surface, feelings he didn’t dare entertain right now. Try as he might to ignore them, the words of advice both Ash and his father had given just yesterday echoed in his mind and he had a hard time keeping his composure.

“Yes, so that if zere are any problems and I need to cancel a class, I can let you know,” Gunter said, breaking Johnny away from his runaway thoughts. “Well, zat and… err…” He looked away, taking his own turn to become embarrassed. “Well… if ever I… you know, pull ze disappearing act again, I-I vould like you to be talking some sense into me again.”

“Again?” he asked, typing his number into the phone and handing it back. Johnny hadn’t actually thought to ask, content in just seeing his friend back to his happy, normal self, but he did wonder if Gunter had even heard anything he’d tried saying through the door that day.

“Ja, like you did on Monday.” Gunter turned back to Johnny, offering him a small, sincere smile. “It vas just what I was needing to hear. Thank you.”

“Oh, uhh… no problem,” Johnny replied bashfully.

He had to avert his gaze yet again. Something about Gunter’s smile was causing his chest to tighten, almost painfully so. It was so subtly different than what Gunter would normally present that nobody would see it unless they were to look closely, but Johnny could see it. There was genuine appreciation in his glistening blue eyes, almost as though Johnny had shown him some kind of unimaginable kindness. Johnny hadn’t thought anything of what he’d done, it was only something he’d thought any friend would do. Well, perhaps it wasn’t just feelings of friendship that it came from, but it was still from the same place of love.

Love…

Was that what he was feeling? And was this the right time to bring it up? He had only recently begun developing these feelings so perhaps it was too early to tell what he really thought of Gunter, but at the same time they had known each other for two years now. Was it really that difficult to imagine his feelings were genuine?

Johnny’s thoughts were yet again brought to a stop when a tone sounded from Gunter’s phone. The pig frowned down at the screen for a moment and Johnny was reminded of the last time this happened.

“Another date?” he ventured, making sure to not sound as disappointed as he had before.

“Ja, it… well, it is someone who is interested,” Gunter replied, beginning to type out a message. “But… zis is not what I am looking for right now. Not after the last one…”

“Did… did it not go well?”

“Ah, no, it was…” Gunter looked up from his screen to the ceiling, thinking for a moment. He didn’t want to outright say that it was simply a hook-up, the young ape didn’t need to know that and Gunter certainly didn’t want to admit to such a thing. “Well, let’s say we vere not looking for the same thing.”

“I see.” There was another question on the tip of Johnny’s tongue, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask it. He wasn’t sure whether it was rude or inappropriate, if Gunter was indeed gay like everyone thought he wouldn’t be bothered by such an inquiry. But the fact that he had yet to use a pronoun in reference to his dates still left Johnny uncertain, and if it turned out the pig was interested in women rather than men, the question could be viewed as offensive, something Johnny would never want to be. But if he was ever going to gather the courage to confess his feelings to Gunter, he at least needed to know there was the possibility that he wouldn’t be rejected, or worse. He’d never experienced homophobic abuse personally but he wasn’t stupid, he knew there were plenty of animals out there that would be more than happy to offer it to him. And he’d hate for a friend like Gunter to be one of them, no matter how slim the possibility seemed.

The only problem was that asking Gunter’s orientation would probably take just as much courage as it would for Johnny to confess his feelings, and it was courage he simply didn’t have. It was already beginning to make him nervous how far into his thoughts he’d travelled, almost to the point that he was resolute in the decision to try and pursue Gunter now. Just moments ago he was still uncertain whether or not it was a good idea, but the more he was thinking about it, the more sure he became. If only he could find out if Gunter was definitely gay.

“Now, zere is another thing I am meaning to tell you.”

“Huh?”

Johnny’s focus once again snapped back to the present, almost quickly enough to daze the gorilla. He saw that Gunter had since put his phone away again, and seemed to be regarding Johnny with an air of amusement.

“You seemed to be a little lost there for a moment,” Gunter laughed. “You vere thinking about something?”

“Oh, uh, yeah,” Johnny replied, all resolution in his decision crashing down around him. Who was he kidding? He was far too easy to embarrass to even try and bring up the question of Gunter’s sexuality. He was too much of a coward to confess his feelings, wanting far too many assurances before doing so. He shook his head, looking down. “Doesn’t matter, though. Just… thinkin’ about what I need to get at the store later.”

“Oh?” Gunter wasn’t convinced, he’d seen how pensive Johnny was looking. Nobody thought that intently about groceries. Still, the young ape seemed embarrassed and Gunter had already vowed not to be one to add to that embarrassment, so he decided not to push it any further. “Well, vat I was wanting to ask you is… perhaps you would like to be attending more classes?”

“More classes?” Johnny repeated, confused.

“Ja, I know you are only attending one class already, and I told you that ze Friday night class would be a good one for you, but…” His smile widened as he trailed off, displaying his teeth in a big, cheeky grin. “Vell, you are already making yourself popular amongst ze other students, and they are wanting to see more of you.” Well, it was mostly two students in particular, but with Johnny’s impression of them being questionable that was one piece of information Gunter felt best to omit.

“They are?”

“Ja, and not only zat, but I am thinking we can get a head start on ze dances we will be needing to learn for this new show zat Mr. Moon has announced.”

Gunter’s grin lowered into a more devilish smirk, something that made Johnny want to laugh. It almost made it seem like Gunter was planning something devious and, knowing Gunter as well as he did, the pig certainly could be. He had no idea what it might be, though. Perhaps he should be nervous?

“So… I guess that’d mean I’d be ahead of the others, an’ not embarrassing myself in front of ‘em?” Johnny ventured.

“Not only that, but you vill be the star of ze show!” Gunter announced proudly.

“Ahh, I doubt that. You and Rosita are already miles ahead of any of us, and I’m sure the others’ll catch up to me.”

“Bah, you are already putting yourself down, you should trust Gunter! Ze show is calling for a young, attractive male star, the audience is not looking to see a fat old pig like me taking ze centre stage.” He grabbed his stomach with his hands and gave it a small jiggle to emphasise his point, laughing at his own joke.

The joke didn’t strike Johnny as being particularly humorous, however. In fact, it irked him. There was a large difference between what Johnny had said and what Gunter was now saying. Johnny’s criticism of himself was genuine, that much he could admit, but it was only a simple observation that didn’t really bother him. Gunter’s criticism of himself seemed far more scathing despite the laughter that followed. The fact that Gunter’s laughter quickly died out and gave way to an almost sorrowful look did nothing to make Johnny feel better about it.

An uncomfortable silence followed. Johnny wanted to say something to make Gunter feel better, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. If he complimented Gunter too strongly it would be as good as confessing his feelings towards Gunter, which he just wasn’t ready for yet. If he approached it with humour, which he was tempted to do, there was the risk that it could just do more to upset Gunter. And if he just handed Gunter a generic compliment it would simply come across as artificial. Gunter didn’t deserve to be pitied and that’s exactly how he would feel.

Johnny’s indecision meant that he said nothing at all. He couldn’t say it was for the best, but eventually Gunter spoke up again, not seeming at all upset any more.

“So, what do you think? You vould like to attend more of my classes?”

There wasn’t much thought to be put into it. More time spent with Gunter was far from unwelcome, after all. “Yeah, I’d like that,” Johnny said.

“Good. You should come to the studio whenever you like, I am sure ze other students would appreciate it.”

Johnny hoped Gunter would appreciate it too. The thought that he could potentially cause Gunter to develop feelings for him also, especially if he excelled at dancing, was particularly enticing, if a little silly. And perhaps Johnny could learn more about him this way. He could figure things out with himself as well, whether this was a mere infatuation or something more as he suspected.

Having more time to watch Gunter move wasn’t exactly a downside, either.

“So, uhh… do you have a class this evening?” Johnny asked.

“Ja, I am going to be opening ze studio shortly after I get back home. Why?”

“Well… ‘m not exactly doin’ anything right now,” he shrugged, though a small smirk betrayed any attempt of trying to appear nonchalant.

Gunter smiled wide, clearly pleased with Johnny’s enthusiasm. “Great! I vill need some time to get clean first, but you are welcome to wait in my apartment.”

Johnny couldn’t help but smile wider, too. He didn’t even have to ask Gunter out and already he was being invited back to his place. Another silly thought, but it didn’t linger too long as they made their way to Gunter’s apartment.

The walk wasn’t long but it was pleasant for both of them, enjoying the company despite no conversation being made. Johnny couldn’t help but look over to Gunter, happy to see him smiling so peacefully. Of course, Gunter noticed and looked over as well, their eyes meeting. Having been caught gawking, Johnny’s immediate impulse was to look away, but he resisted when he saw Gunter smile wider as he looked back to the path in front of them.

“You know, you’re not _that_  old,” Johnny finally said, facing forward as well. He smirked when he felt Gunter’s gaze fall upon him again.

“Bah, I am almost thirty, zis is old,” Gunter chuckled.

Johnny snorted. “You’ll only be saying the same thing again in ten years.”

“Ja… and ten years after zat.”

“Still plenty of life left, then.”

Gunter smiled, the positivity he knew Johnny would provide washing over him. There was just something about him that made everything feel better, somehow.

“Ja… plenty of life left.”


	8. An Improvement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, guess I need to apologise again. I know I've been pretty terrible at keeping to my update schedule lately but I'll try to work on that. I was on track to have this updated yesterday, but unfortunately I had my car broken into. I've been pretty distracted, what with all the cleaning (who knew glass could be so hard to clean in a car?), booking a window specialist to come and replace it... it's been a bit of a headache.
> 
> On the plus side, the rock that the thief put through my car window was pretty cool looking, so I've decided to keep it. Gotta have a sense of humour about these things, eh? Hopefully I've used up my bad luck quota for a while now.
> 
> Anyway, I'll work harder to get back on track now, and I hope you enjoy the update.

“I-I don’t know if I’m ready to try this…”

“Relax your body parts, Johnny. You are more than ready to do zis now! Just remember, you know ze steps so you should not be thinking about them, you should only be thinking about the beat.”

“But Gunter, I only jus’ learnt it.”

“You will not be alone, come, join me.”

“Everyone’s watchin’ though…”

“Ignore zem, just focus on me and follow my lead.”

Johnny took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to settle his nerves. He could feel the gazes of his classmates on him as he stepped to the front, joining Gunter as the music began to play. The room filled with the now familiar arrangement of accordion and saxophone, together with the beats provided by a bass guitar as well as the tambora and güira, two instruments Gunter had been more than happy to describe in long and excitable detail. The description had been so long, in fact, that Johnny couldn’t help but zone out and focus on Gunter’s amusing movements. He was never one to stay still whilst talking and seeing him discussing something that seemed to fascinate him so much just made his motions far more animated and distracting. All Johnny could take from it was that it was a two-sided drum and some kind of cylindrical metal instrument that sounded like a maraca.

Indeed, this style of music had taken over Gunter’s classes the past week in place of the usual pop and dance music they had been used to before. Inspired by his promise to Mike at the theatre, Gunter decided it was about time he introduced all of his students both there and at his studio to the expansive world of Latin dance styles, beginning with the merengue. It was the perfect choice to begin with, being relatively easy to learn as a dance to be performed either alone or with a partner. Up until now they had been learning to perform alone, but Gunter decided it was now time to partner up. And, to his amusement, not a single female animal in his class had hesitated in trying to partner up with Johnny. Nor had Aaron and Carl.

The poor young ape looked much like he had when he’d met his first group of fangirls after their first official show upon the New Moon Theatre’s reopening. And Gunter had to admit, his students didn’t act much differently from those fangirls either. To save Johnny from his predicament he declared himself as Johnny’s partner, much to everyone’s disappointment. Gunter simply brushed it off as needing Johnny in order to demonstrate for everyone else. The others were dubious, and with good reason. Johnny was by no means a terrible dancer, having improved a lot since he first started classes two short weeks ago, but he was far from Gunter’s star pupil. Still, with the way the gorilla had been improving that could soon change, and Gunter knew that. He wanted every possible opportunity to nurture Johnny’s talent and bring out the dancer he knew was in there.

That, and he really didn’t want to watch poor Johnny be torn apart by his rabid fans.

“OK, now just as you practised before,” Gunter began explaining, both to Johnny and to the rest of the class. “However, you are working both around and with another dancer now, so you must be aware of their movements as well.”

“So no stepping on his feet!” a female rabbit called out, to which everyone laughed.

“Oh, do not worry Jane, there will probably be lots of stepping on toes,” Gunter said, looking pointedly over to her and her partner. “Fortunately some of us have smaller feet than others, however.”

This earned another round of laughter from the class, even from Jane herself after a moment’s attempt at pouting. Johnny laughed along with them, the light-hearted jabbing doing wonders in alleviating his nerves. He’d quickly come to learn that no matter how many insults were thrown around the studio, none of them would ever be meant maliciously. The animals who attended regularly just seemed to be the type to have an impeccable sense of humour, something he greatly appreciated.

“Okay, now, one, two, three, four,” Gunter said, grabbing Johnny and immediately manoeuvring him into the dance.

It caught Johnny off-guard and he almost stumbled, but Gunter kept hold of Johnny’s hands before placing one upon his shoulder, placing his own hand above Johnny’s hip. Johnny managed to keep his footing and quickly caught up with the steps. As soon as he realised he was counting steps, however, he stopped. He realised these were the same steps he’d been doing before, just with another animal doing them along with him, and a little less arm movement. He didn’t focus on what he was doing, he had that memorised, and instead put his concentration into the beat and the way he moved around Gunter. A couple of times he got a little too close, other times he drifted too far away, but not once did he step on Gunter’s toes. It probably did help that the pig’s feet were fairly small.

After a moment’s demonstration Gunter pulled away from Johnny and turned back towards the class. “You see, it is zis easy. You are just making the same steps as before. Forwards and backwards, side to side. You are just needing to make sure you stay ze correct distance from each other. And you are not doing any elaborate arm movements as you do not want to break your partner’s arm. At least I am assuming you do not want to, but maybe you get into an argument, I don’t know. Just please, do not make me perform ze first aid, I am very rusty.”

Another laugh rippled through the room before everyone took hold of their partner and danced the way they were shown to. Since Gunter had stopped to watch the class Johnny could do nothing but watch as well. For the most part everybody seemed to be getting the hang of it fairly quickly. The male rabbit who was dancing with Jane only seemed to wince once, indicating that they were doing a reasonably good job of keeping off each other’s toes. Johnny spotted a couple of other animals whose toes were stepped on at some point or another, but nobody slipped up any more than that and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

As the song faded out and another began playing Johnny’s ears perked up as he heard Gunter gasp from beside him. He turned to look at the pig just in time to find himself being pulled into another dance.

“I love this song!” Gunter cried out, his face lit up with excitement. “Come, come!”

“Wait, Gunter, I-”

Johnny tried to protest but it was all in vain. Gunter already had Johnny in his grasp and was leading through the dance. The pace was a little faster than the last song but he didn’t struggle to keep up as much as he thought he would. What did surprise him, however, is when he suddenly found his arm over his head as Gunter lead him through a turn. He performed it, though barely, and Gunter again had him in his arms as they continued.

“Ja, very good Johnny,” Gunter laughed.

“Thanks,” Johnny croaked, only now realising how short of breath he was. The pace may have been manageable but it was intense. Still, he was proud of himself for being able to keep up.

After a couple of minutes and a few more turns and other tricky manoeuvres the song began to fade out, replaced with another, slightly slower one. For as much fun as the dance was, Johnny would be lying if he didn’t admit he was glad that it was over. It was fine to practice parts of a dance routine on your own, but suddenly being thrust into a full four minute dance with a partner was more than he had been prepared for.

As soon as Gunter pulled away Johnny had the overwhelming urge to roll his shoulders, feeling a lot of tension within his muscles. He groaned as he did so before moving on to stretching his arms.

“Ah, I am sorry, I am forgetting that zis is different than when I am dancing with Rosita,” Gunter apologised, smiling bashfully.

“S’alright, I jus’ wasn’t prepared for… _that_ ,” Johnny said.

A loud crack could be heard as Johnny stretched out his back, making both of them cringe.

“Are you alright?” Gunter said, visibly alarmed.

“Y-Yeah, I… I’m jus’ a little sore.”

Johnny’s voice was strained and he seemed to be clutching at his back. It probably wasn’t cause for concern but Gunter didn’t like the idea that he’d caused Johnny to get hurt. He stepped behind Johnny, small, deft hands shooing away Johnny’s own as he began massaging the area Johnny had been holding. “I am sorry, this is my fault, I should not have made you do so many turns.”

“It’s alright, honest,” Johnny said, trying to move away. Gunter held onto his shoulder though, keeping him in place before going back to the impromptu massage. “I just can’t stretch it out like I feel like I should, kinda like there’s a knot there.”

“Hrm, well… I do not think you have sprained anything, at least, or else this would be causing you a lot of pain. Does it hurt when I do this?”

“W-Well, no…” It felt good, actually, but it was embarrassing to be experiencing something like this in front of a class full of other animals. Still, it did feel good. A little too good…

Johnny suddenly spun himself around, stopping Gunter from doing what he was doing. “Sorry! Sorry, I… I appreciate ya tryin’ to help, but honestly, I’m fine.”

Gunter hummed, still slightly concerned. “I suppose, if you are not in pain…”

“I’m not.”

“Alright,” he muttered. He couldn’t say that he wasn’t a little disappointed. He hadn’t been able to get a handful of that much muscle in a very long time. If only there wasn’t a jacket separating his hands from the fur of Johnny’s back…

“Hey Gunter, can you come watch us a minute?” a female goat called out, garnering both his and Johnny’s attention. “I’m not sure if we’re doing this right.”

“Ah, of course, let me come see,” he said, making his way over.

Johnny watched as Gunter left him at the front of the class. He scanned the room, seeing everyone else was still dancing. He was relieved not to have had any eyes on him. As nice as it was to be in such close contact with Gunter he really didn’t want to be seen in such a position. Of course, what Gunter was doing would have been reasonable if Johnny had suffered an injury, and it could be explained that way to anyone who had caught the act, but it made the thought no less embarrassing.

Plus, it had begun threatening to do things to Johnny’s body that would be much less easy to explain away.

Not sure what to do now that he was alone, and desperate to get his mind off what had just happened, he skulked off to one of the back corners of the room, watching the rest of the class dancing with their partners. There wasn’t much time left now and he felt like he’d gotten more than his share of practice for the day.

The remaining ten minutes passed quickly, another three songs playing in the time before Gunter finally shut the boombox off.

“Excellent practice today, everyone,” Gunter announced. “You are all finally beginning to dance with ze fire in your bellies, ja? I am thinking next class we will begin trying something more difficult, so be ready to learn how to dance with even more spice!”

Everyone cheered and bid their farewells to Gunter and to each other. Johnny hung back to have a final conversation with Gunter, as had become routine for them now. A couple of animals Johnny had been more than expecting approached to say their final goodbyes as well.

“Bye Gunter,” Carl said, giving him a wave. “Same time tomorrow?”

“You bet,” he replied cheerily, waving in return.

“And you’ll be here tomorrow, too?” Aaron asked Johnny.

“Yep, I’ll be here,” Johnny confirmed.

“Good,” he said with a wink while Johnny simply rolled his eyes. He’d grown used to it now.

“See you both tomorrow, then,” Carl added as he and Aaron made their way out, following behind the two rabbits.

“So you two saw Gunter getting his hands on Johnny there, right?” Jane said in a hushed tone.

“Totally,” Carl said just as quietly.

“How long ‘til they hook up?”

All Gunter and Johnny could hear from where they were was giggling as the last animals exited the studio. They had no idea what it was about but didn’t give it much thought.

“So I guess I’ll be seeing you at the theatre tomorrow then?” Johnny said.

“Ja, and I think we vill be doing this same class for ze others there, too.”

Gunter finished packing up his bag and the two left the studio, Gunter locking it up behind them.

“I am sorry again for what happened earlier,” Gunter said.

“Oh no, it’s fine, my back’s already feelin’ better,” Johnny insisted. “Besides, I think I kept up pretty well.”

“You did! I was impressed. I think Mike should be worried now.”

“Yeah?” Johnny smirked. It was a nice thought, finally being able to give the cocky mouse a run for his money.

“Ja, from here you vill only keep improving, especially with all the extra classes you are taking. You will even be able to match me and Rosita one day.”

“Nah, I don’t think I’ll ever be _that_  good.”

“You will, I am guaranteeing it.”

“Heh, well thanks for the confidence.”

“Of course I am confident, I am ze one teaching you after all,” Gunter smirked.

“Ah, so my success is your success then?”

“Exactly.”

The two shared a laugh before Gunter began taking a couple of steps back, indicating he was ready to get back to his apartment.

“Well, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Johnny said.

“Ja, see you tomorrow.”

Gunter unlocked the door to his apartment and stepped in, giving Johnny a small wave before closing the door behind him.

It was always hard saying goodbye to Gunter and Johnny knew that he was always the one keeping Gunter from getting home as early as he otherwise could. He wondered if perhaps he was being a bother to Gunter but decided against it, he was sure the pig would have said as much if he was. Still, their goodbyes always left him feeling awkward, though for what reason he couldn’t say, although it was probably at least in part because he never actually wanted to say goodbye.

With a heavy sigh he turned and made his way back home. At least they now had extra time together that he could appreciate.

 

* * *

 

The practice room was hot and thick with the smell of sweat as Gunter had the cast practice their routine over and over again. Johnny had been paired with Meena, Ash with Rosita, and Mike had convinced Gunter to allow Nancy to join them as his partner. It was probably for the best, the next closest in size to Mike was Ash, and nobody would have been surprised if she not-so-accidentally stepped on him. That was a medical emergency Gunter would rather avoid, amusing as it might be.

Gunter spent the class either demonstrating or correcting the cast on anything they were struggling with. Mike had little to work on, whereas everyone else, Johnny included, had more to correct. Johnny didn’t let that upset him, though. He might not be as good as Mike yet, but he’d get there.

Eventually Gunter had everyone practice the merengue individually again. For the most part he would tell everyone what they needed to work on or demonstrate again to give them a clearer idea. Whenever it came to Johnny, however, Gunter didn’t hesitate in physically correcting him, something that didn’t escape the notice of the rest of the cast. It was easy enough to brush off, though. Since Johnny had started taking extra classes at Gunter’s studio he had been trying harder to bring Johnny into line. Mike had even claimed at one point that it was just patent favouritism, but nothing more than that. It all seemed innocent enough.

At least, it did to most of them. Whenever she had the chance between helping the others Rosita had been keeping a close eye on them. And while at first glance it may have seemed innocent enough, she noticed how Gunter’s hands would linger just a little too long every now and then, how Johnny would watch a little too intently whenever Gunter demonstrated a routine, how they would laugh and joke just a little more often than they used to. It was clear to her that they were getting closer, and that perhaps the infatuation she’d once noticed with Johnny wasn’t as one-sided as she thought. She was reminded of the fact that she had yet to invite Johnny for dinner and a chat, so perhaps now would be the perfect time.

When the class wound down to a close Rosita made an effort to catch Johnny before he left. However, as she began to make her way over her arm was caught, stopping her. She turned around, finding Ash had been the one to stop her.

“Rosita, have you got a minute?” Ash asked.

Rosita turned back around, watching as Johnny left. Having missed her opportunity she sighed as she faced Ash again. “Yes Ash, of course. What did you want?”

Ash shuffled her feet awkwardly. “It’s… it’s about Johnny. And Gunter.”

Rosita’s eyes widened. She didn’t say anything, however this seemed to be enough to provoke a reaction from Ash.

“So you see it too?” Ash ventured.

“See what, dear?” Rosita replied, trying her best not to let on.

Ash crossed her arms, raising her brows. “Oh come on, it’s obvious isn’t it? Johnny’s got feelings for Gunter.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

Ash huffed. “Look, I know you see what I see. I’ve been watching them today and Johnny’s been acting… strange around Gunter. I know you were watching them too.”

“Ash…”

“Look, I get it, it’s private. If you know something and can’t talk about it, that’s fine. Just… look out for Johnny. I don’t wanna see him get hurt again,” she sighed.

Rosita placed a hand on Ash’s shoulder, meeting her eyes. “I promise you, I only have Johnny’s best interests at heart. I will look out for him.”

Ash looked away, giving a small nod. “Okay. Thanks.”

With that Ash left, a little dejected. Rosita could tell Ash had Johnny’s best interests at heart as well, but she just wasn’t willing to discuss something she didn’t really know enough about.

She missed her opportunity this time but she was going to make it a point to have a talk with Johnny as soon as she could. She would probably have to have one with Gunter too. She knew Gunter wouldn’t be one to take advantage of Johnny but it wouldn’t hurt to try and find out if there were feelings on his side as well.

Rosita grabbed hold of her bag and heaved it over her shoulder, beginning to make her way to her car. It looked like she may have to get more involved in this matter than she’d wanted, but there were two animals at the heart of this that she cared an awful lot for and she would hate to see either of them get hurt. She only hoped it would work out for both of them.


	9. A Discussion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm so sorry this took so long, I can't believe it's been four months already. Without going into too much detail, I had myself a bit of a mental breakdown and couldn't really bring myself to do... well, much of anything. I'm feeling a lot better now, but despite that, I do feel it best to say that it'll be unlikely that I'll be updating weekly from now on. I fear that trying to keep up with that will probably overwhelm me. I will try my best to update regularly though, I really don't plan on the next chapter taking quite this long.
> 
> I will be looking to spend more time on other fics I have planned, too. I have two other multi-part fics that I've begun writing plans for, as well as a couple of oneshots. And then of course there's that big multi-part series still in the works. (Probably will be in the works for quite a bit longer though.) Now would be a good time to follow me on tumblr (donansen) and/or twitter (@DonoavanAnsen) where in future I'll be posting updates with where each story is in the writing process.
> 
> Anyway, that's enough from me, hope you all enjoy the chapter.

Another day, another dance class. Johnny’s feelings were becoming more and more difficult to ignore, almost as though they were growing stronger each day he saw Gunter. As said animal packed up and left the class Johnny could do nothing but simply watch his retreating form longingly, a small, wistful sigh following. He needed to say something, if not to Gunter then to someone. The situation was beginning to drive him mad.

“Johnny?”

The young ape practically leapt out of his fur. It took all he had not to let out a yelp of surprise as he turned to see Rosita looking at him with concern. It quickly became one of amusement after witnessing Johnny’s reaction.

“Oh, h-hey Rosita. Um, what’s up?”

He realised how awkward he was being and did his best to brush it off as casually as possible, but Rosita’s sweet smile belied her suspicions. She didn’t allow it to show, but somehow Johnny knew. He shrunk back a little as though being admonished by a parent. It didn’t help that he viewed Rosita as one.

“Johnny, would you happen to be free this evening?” she asked, finally breaking the silence.

“Oh, uh, yeah… I got nothing planned. Why?”

“Well, it seems Norman is going to be at work late tonight and I could really do with some help today.” It was only a small lie; Norman was often working late and Rosita was more than used to taking care of their place alone during the evenings. She didn’t particularly _need_  the help but it was always welcome, especially if it meant good company. “I was wondering if you would be willing to help look after the kids this evening while I get some spring cleaning done? You’ll be more than welcome to join us for dinner.”

“Yeah, that sounds great, I’m up for it.” Johnny had looked after the kids plenty of times by now, he was used to keeping up with their chaotic brand of energy. Not only that, but Rosita’s cooking skills had become something of a legend, matched only by the baking skills of Meena and her mother. Any excuse to get a taste of Rosita’s food was a good one.

“I’m glad to hear it,” she said, her smile somehow brightening significantly. “My car is outside if you wanted to go straight there?”

“Sure,” he nodded. Luckily Johnny hadn’t driven his own truck. He rarely did unless the truck was needed specifically.

“Great.” Rosita grabbed her purse and then made to pick up her gym bag.

“Oh here, I got that,” Johnny said, taking it before Rosita could and hoisting it onto the shoulder opposite to his own bag.

“Johnny, I’m more than capable of carrying my own bag,” she said with an amused smirk.

“I know, I know, but while I’m here ya might as well make use of me.”

“Well, thank you,” she said with a small giggle. Johnny always went out of his way to be kind, even when it wasn’t necessary. It made her proud, in a way, for as much as the younger members of the cast considered her a surrogate mother, she in turn viewed them as her surrogate children.

Rosita led the way out of the theatre to where her car was parked, unlocking it and enabling Johnny to set their bags down in the back seats. As Johnny climbed into the passenger seat he marvelled, as he always did, at how spacious the interior was. Of course, it had to be to fit anywhere up to twenty-seven pigs at the same time, but it just didn’t look big enough from the outside.

“Thanks again for agreeing to come at such short notice,” Rosita said as she buckled her seat belt.

“Ah, it’s no trouble Rosita,” he replied, buckling his own. “Thank _you_  for inviting me.”

A small silence followed as Rosita focused on starting up the car, pulling out onto the road once it was clear and beginning their journey to her apartment.

“It’s been far too long since I’ve had you over for dinner.,” Rosita said, sparing Johnny a quick glance and offering him a smile. “I think the kids have missed you. They quite often ask me when you’ll be there next.”

“Yeah? Kinda missed ‘em myself.”

Rosita sighed. “If only just _one_  of their babysitters could say that.”

“Ah, I reckon they need to realise that they’re just kids, doin’ their thing. They’re not so hard to deal with if you can relate to them.”

“Sometimes I think you’d make a better parent than Norman and I do,” Rosita giggled. “We just don’t have the energy to keep up with them.”

“Yeah, but havin’ the energy’s not the parents’ job, is it? That’s what a big brother is for.” There was no small amount of pride in his statement. Several times the piglets had made the comparison of Johnny to an older brother, even outright calling him it. It was strange at first, but eventually Johnny was more than happy to take on the role. Having no siblings himself it was quite nice to be looked up to. It made things a lot less lonely when he had the chance to see them, like he still had a family aside from just his father, and Stan and Barry, who were more his father’s friends than anything else.

“Well, I hope the ‘big brother’ is prepared for a bit of a rough time. You know how they get when they haven’t seen you for a while.”

“Yeah…” Johnny frowned a little. With so much going on lately he hadn’t really taken the time to see them, or even speak as much to Rosita. “Guess I haven’t really been keeping contact like I should.”

Rosita rested a hand atop Johnny’s for a small moment, giving it a squeeze before placing it back on the steering wheel. “No, there’s fault on both our parts. Things have been a little hectic at the theatre lately and I know you’ve felt a lot of pressure with these dance classes. I should have reached out sooner.”

A moment passed and a thought occurred to Johnny, bringing a small smirk to his lips. “I reckon we should jus’ blame Mr. Moon, then.”

“Well, he _did_  spring it on us quite suddenly, and without thinking it through very well.”

“Not much really changed the past couple years, huh?”

The two shared a laugh. As much as they liked and appreciated the koala for all that he’d done for them, there was no getting around the fact that he was still just as eccentric as ever. It could be frustrating at times, but more often than not it was just an amusing part of his charm.

The amusement hung in the air as the majority of the journey passed by in comfortable silence, only broken once with the rumbling of Johnny’s stomach.

“Hungry?” Rosita commented.

Johnny smiled bashfully. “Jus’ thinking about anything you cook is enough to make anyone hungry.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to make the cleaning quick then.” There was a hint of concern in her voice now. Something didn’t seem right, in fact it hadn’t seemed right for a while. Rosita pulled the car over, finally reaching her apartment complex. She took the time to look over Johnny, studying him a little more closely. He seemed… smaller, somehow. Because they saw each other so often at the theatre it wasn’t something she immediately picked up on, but something had been bothering her about him and this was clearly it. “Johnny, please don’t take this the wrong way, but I have to ask… are you eating well?”

“Uhh, yeah, well enough I s’pose,” Johnny shrugged.

“Are you sure? You might be a young adult now but you’re still growing. I don’t want to hear that you’re surviving on snacks and frozen meals.”

“Rosita, I know how to cook,” Johnny said with a small chuckle. The laughter wasn’t genuine though, and Rosita knew it. Her face became stern and it didn’t seem like she was willing to drop the subject. Again, Johnny shrunk back. “Well… I guess I haven’t had a lot of time lately, so maybe I haven’t been eating as well as I should. I’ll try doin’ better.”

“Promise?”

Johnny visibly shuddered. Somehow Rosita’s look had become even more stern. She was clearly parenting him here so there was no getting out of it. “I promise, I’ll try eatin’ better from now on.”

“Hrm.” _Try_  wasn’t exactly the promise she was hoping Johnny would make, but it would have to do. She didn’t want to upset him by overstepping her boundaries, not actually being his parent only allowed her to push so far. “Well, I suppose we’ll be starting today then. It’ll only be a simple casserole, but there’s plenty of protein and plenty of veggies. And you’ll be able to eat as much as you want, there’s always leftovers. I’ll probably be able to send you home with some, too.”

Although Johnny really didn’t want Rosita to worry about him in such a manner, the thought of potentially having two meals worth of Rosita’s cooking had him grinning like an idiot. Hell, having two cooked meals at all made him happy. “Thank you, I appreciate it.”

“You’re very welcome.” Rosita finally felt able to smile again. She wasn’t completely put at ease but it was enough to be able to have Johnny well-fed for at least the next couple of days. And if they could find the time to make this a more regular thing again then she’d be even happier. “Okay, well, I suppose it’s time to say hi to the kids. I hope you’re ready.”

“Always am,” he said, grinning excitedly.

The two exited the car, Johnny retrieving their bags, and they entered the apartment complex. They made their way up the stairs to Rosita’s apartment. She slid the key in and turned it, taking a quick glance at Johnny to make sure he was prepared before opening the door.

“Kids, I’m home! And we have company!”

The first thing Johnny noticed was a very relived-looking babysitter who seemed on the verge of a mental breakdown. A little melodramatic, he thought, the kids weren’t _that_  bad. The second thing he noticed was a wave of pink energy rushing towards them at full speed.

“Mommy!” they all cried in unison before pausing for just a moment. They then rushed the door even faster. “Johnny!”

Johnny braced himself for impact, Rosita expertly dodging around the small bodies as they charged him at full force. Johnny placed the bags aside and held his arms out, scooping up as many of the piglets as he could and lifting them into a hug. Those that weren’t so lucky clung to his legs and hips, hugging him surprisingly tight. “Yeah, yeah, it’s good to see you all,” Johnny chuckled, barely keeping his balance as they threatened to trip him over. This had been the way every time he visited and, after two years of this, it still amazed him to see how energetic they could be. The fact that they always seemed to have grown bigger every time he visited made it particularly difficult to keep his balance, but he hadn’t failed yet.

Rosita made her way over to the babysitter, pulling some cash out of her purse and handing it over. “They weren’t too much trouble were they?” she asked sweetly, though she already expected the answer.

“N-No, but, uhh…” she began shakily, darting her eyes between Rosita and the piglets who were still threatening to pull Johnny to the ground. “I-I totally forgot, my family is moving away tomorrow so I won’t be able to look after your kids again. Ever.”

The lie was weak but it was certainly a new one to Rosita. She had to suppress a giggle before dismissing the babysitter. “Oh, that’s perfectly understandable, moving can be quite the stressful experience. Thank you very much for doing such a wonderful job and I wish you luck.” Nothing about Rosita’s tone suggested she bought the lie, but the babysitter was too desperate to care.

“Uh, thanks. Bye!” She bolted for the door quicker than Rosita had ever seen, somehow dodging Johnny and the piglets who had barely made it any further than the doorway.

“Kids, leave poor Johnny alone for a moment, you’ll have plenty of time with him.”

“Aww…” came the collective reply as they either let go of his legs or jumped down from his arms. Within seconds they were back to running amok around the living room, either playing with toys or chasing and play fighting with each other.

“Would you like a coffee?” Rosita offered now that Johnny had room to breathe.

“I’d love one,” he nodded, following as Rosita led the way to the kitchen.

Rosita switched the coffee maker on before preparing the mugs. She then busied herself in the fridge, setting the milk on the counter with the mugs before pulling out an assortment of vegetables. “I was thinking I’d get a head start on the cooking before starting with the cleaning, if you wouldn’t mind finishing those,” she said, nodding her head towards the mugs as she carried the vegetables over to the sink to be washed.

“Oh, sure thing,” Johnny said. As Rosita washed the vegetables Johnny dug into one of the cupboards and, thankful he still knew where they were, proceeded to pull out two chopping boards. He then opened a door and withdrew two knives, placing them all upon the counter. At that point the coffee had finished brewing so he finished making the coffees, placing the milk back in the fridge, then took some of the washed vegetables and set about chopping them.

“Oh no, Johnny, you don’t have to do that,” Rosita said, bringing the rest of the vegetables to the counter.

“Why not? Gets done quicker with two of us. I know how to chop veg, y’know.”

As the two chopped Rosita kept looking over, confirming that Johnny could indeed chop vegetables well. He was almost keeping pace with her, even, and she’d probably been doing this longer than Johnny had been alive.

“So how have the dance classes been going?” Rosita asked, not wasting the opportunity for conversation.

“Yeah, they’ve been goin’ pretty good,” Johnny replied, not looking up from the chopping board for fear of losing focus and potentially a finger. “Reckon I can keep up with the others now, ‘specially since I’m not focusing on the technical side of it any more.” He did allow himself a brief glance at Rosita to offer an appreciative smile, as it was partly her advice that had helped him.

“I’m so glad to hear that. And you’ve been getting along with the other animals in the classes?”

“I have, yeah. They’re all a bit of a laugh, an’ made me feel right at home.”

“Good, good. And Gunter?” she ventured, taking the chance as soon as it presented itself.

Johnny’s cutting speed noticeably dropped and the faintest hints of a frown traced his features, though Rosita noticed the all too familiar look of wistfulness settle on the young ape’s face. It was only for a moment though, as the frown quickly disappeared and Johnny began chopping as fervently as before. “Yeah, we’re getting on alright.” A small pause followed before he continued. “He’s been real helpful in teachin’ me to get over my nerves. And he’s got us learning stuff in his class ahead of wha’ he teaches us at the theatre. Somehow he always has time to help everyone in the class, and he gets on well with everyone. Always has a joke to tell which always gets a laugh from everyone, and he’s really kind and… and, uhh…” He trailed off, realising he was probably complimenting Gunter a little too highly. “Yeah, we’ve been getting on alright.”

The way Johnny had almost answered dismissively to begin with, but then couldn’t stop himself from gushing over everything he liked about Gunter, was very telling. Rosita simply smiled sweetly, not wanting to remark on it yet. “Well, it sounds like the extra classes were a good idea then. I expect you’ll be surpassing Gunter and I sometime as well.”

Johnny snorted. “Gunter said the same thing. I don’t think that’s gonna happen though.”

“Hm, well we’ll see.”

The vegetables were now all cut so Rosita took them and added them to the pot, making short work of chopping up the meat before adding that in along with all the other ingredients. The two then tended to their mugs, the coffee having cooled down significantly but not to the point where either of them passed up drinking it. “Thank you for the help, Johnny. That could have taken a lot longer.”

“Ah, s’no problem.”

“Well, I’m just going to throw this into the oven and then start with the cleaning. Would you mind keeping an eye on the kids in the meantime?”

With that the sound of something smashing could be heard from the living room, along with a few of the piglets saying “ooh, you’re gonna be in trouble.” Rosita rolled her eyes where Johnny let out a chuckle, already reaching into a cupboard for the dustpan and brush.

“Yeah, sounds like I should probably do that,” he said.

“Thank you. And please tell Caspar not to play ball games in the house.”

“Will do.” As he entered the living room Johnny wasn’t at all surprised to see that, without even going anywhere near the room, Rosita had been exactly right about what had happened. Next to the table was the shards of a vase, a ball, and an incredibly guilty-looking Caspar. Johnny just shook his head and bent down to clear up the shards. Seeing his chance at getting off scot-free, since it was Johnny clearing up and not his mom, Caspar quickly ran off to join in with the other piglets’ play. Johnny emptied the dustpan into the bin, making sure to take the ball and pocket it along with another he found next to the couch, and decided to round the piglets up.

“Okay guys, mom’s tryin’ to get some cleaning done so how about we all play a game together?” he suggested.

“Hide and seek!” one of the piglets, Hannah, suggested, to which all of the other piglets agreed enthusiastically.

That suggestion was perfect to Johnny. With twenty-five of them a single game often took a while, giving Rosita plenty of time to get done with whatever she needed to do and, perhaps more importantly, a bit of silence. “Great idea,” he said, “but jus’ one rule. We have to keep it downstairs, alright?” They all agreed and promptly ran off in different directions, giggling. “Guess I’m seeker, then,” Johnny chuckled, closing his eyes and counting.

The game went down well and took longer than expected. The kids had really found some ingenious hiding places that took quite a while for Johnny to figure out, and better still they’d even been willing to play a couple more rounds. Part way through the third Johnny could smell the casserole and was distracted enough to almost forget about the game for a moment, growing more hungry than he’d felt in a long while. His stomach let out a loud growl, prompting a giggle from inside one of the cupboards. Upon finding Iggy inside the piglet giggled again. “Not fair, your belly made a funny noise,” he said, poking Johnny’s stomach before running off to the living room.

“Oi!” Johnny called after the cheeky piglet before turning his attention back to finding the rest of them.

By the time the third game wrapped up and everyone had returned to the living room, Rosita poked her head in. “Alright kids, dinner time.”

They all went running off into the kitchen, hurriedly taking a seat and picking up their knife and fork. A few of them drummed the cutlery on the table impatiently as Rosita served their dinner as quickly as she could, asking them to calm down. As Johnny took a seat himself he could have sworn he heard her muttering something about wishing she still had a machine. He remembered hearing something about Rosita engineering a machine to take care of the daily routine once, like something out of a children’s story. He would have loved to have seen it.

“And here you are Johnny,” she said, serving his portion last. “At least _someone_  is patient.” She turned to Rory, the one who had been drumming his cutlery loudest, who poked his tongue out at his mother. Given that he had a mouthful of food it didn’t go quite the way he’d planned when some of it dribbled down his chin, making the gesture look quite gross. Still, Rosita poked her tongue out in return.

Johnny’s eyes lit up upon seeing his heaping serving, though he couldn’t help feeling a little guilty. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?” he worriedly asked as Rosita served up her own portion.

“Oh no, not at all,” she assured. “There’s still plenty left for Norman, and more besides. I told you there’d be enough to take home with you.” She set the pot back down on the counter before returning to the table and beginning to eat. Having no further objections Johnny began eating as well.

It was the best thing Johnny had tasted since… well, since he’d last eaten at Rosita’s, he figured. The meal passed in relative silence, the only sounds being the clattering of cutlery against plates. The meal was clearly a favourite amongst the kids since not one of them had caused trouble until they finished. Once everyone had eaten Rosita ushered them off to watch some TV while she took care of the dishes. Before she had the opportunity, however, Johnny had already beaten her to it.

“I should probably pay you for the amount of work you insist on doing,” Rosita giggled.

“Believe me, that meal was payment enough,” Johnny said, grinning wide. It was the fullest his stomach had felt in what seemed like ages. He almost felt lethargic from it, but he resisted the temptation to stay at the table just to watch Rosita do the dishes alone. That would have been unfair.

“Well, thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Her comment had an air of pride to it. It always meant a lot to hear a compliment on her cooking outside of her family, who ate it every day.

Once the dishes were done they rejoined the piglets in the living room. They were all engrossed in watching cartoons, most of them content to lie on the floor which left most of the couch free for the two adults to take a seat.

It wasn’t long before Rosita announced bedtime for them. With a grumble they headed upstairs, Rosita following them to supervise. Johnny remained downstairs, a little more interested in the cartoons than he’d care to admit. When Rosita returned Johnny began to stretch, preparing to leave.

“Oh, you don’t have to go just yet,” Rosita said hurriedly. “How about one last coffee?”

“Uh, sure, go on then,” Johnny said, noting how late it was but also not wanting to be rude. “Thanks,” he hastily added.

Rosita left for the kitchen and, as Johnny waited for her, he began to feel a little nervous. Clearly there was a reason she had made the offer and he had the sneaking suspicion that it was to have a conversation he really didn’t want to have. He didn’t have much time to dwell on it before Rosita returned, handing him a mug.

“Thanks,” Johnny said as he took his coffee.

“You’re welcome,” Rosita returned as she took her seat on the couch. Her eyes never left Johnny’s even as she took a sip from her mug, unnerving the young ape immensely. “Johnny, dear, something has been bothering you lately, hasn’t it?”

“N-No, not particularly,” he lied. He didn’t know why he lied, there was no point in trying. Rosita had already fixed him with a stare that made it impossible. Besides, he’d really wanted to finally get this secret off his chest. “Well, yeah, I guess maybe there are a few things… or, well, one really big thing.”

“Talk to me.”

Johnny sighed. “OK, so, um… I… kinda have a crush.”

“Really?” Rosita wasn’t at all surprised, although she had expected more resistance.

“Yeah, um… but it’s not really a crush. It’s more than that. It’s like…” Johnny looked down and began fiddling with his hands, trying to think of how best to explain it. “It’s like how I felt with Ash.”

This did surprise Rosita. She’d known how hard Johnny had fallen for Ash so to think he had already fallen for Gunter in a similar manner worried her slightly. “You really feel that strongly?”

Johnny met Rosita’s gaze again. “Yeah, I do. See, he… ah, I-I mean she, uhh…”

Johnny swallowed hard, realising that he wasn’t going to be able to go back on what he said. Just as panic was about to set in Rosita placed a comforting hand on his arm, smiled that sweet smile of hers and suddenly Johnny’s anxiety melted away. He realised it was silly, of all animals Rosita was the least likely to judge.

“It’s okay Johnny, it’s perfectly normal. I don’t think any less of you.”

“I know.” And he did, of course he knew. Rosita was just the type to accept anyone as they were, provided they were a good animal.

“Besides, I’ve had my suspicions for quite a while.”

“You did?!” Johnny exclaimed, suddenly panicked. Had he made it obvious? Was he still making it obvious? He didn’t like the thought of not being able to choose who knew his sexuality and who didn’t. “How?”

“Oh, just a mother’s intuition,” she giggled. “Don’t worry, you don’t show it openly so I doubt anyone would guess just from looking at you.”

That brought him some sense of relief. “How long have you known?”

“Hmm… How long have we known each other?”

Johnny chuckled. He probably should have known, Rosita was incredibly intuitive. “That long, huh?”

“Well, maybe a _little_ while after we met, but yes, about that long.”

Johnny smiled as he took a long swig of his coffee. Feeling more confident from the revelation he decided to continue. “So, yeah, this guy… I see him at class, at the dance studio. I really do have strong feelings for him, but I don’t know what to do about it. The thing is, he’s a little older than me, and he seems to date a lot already, and… well, I’m not sure if he’s into guys as well.”

For the briefest of moments Rosita considered the idea that perhaps she’d gotten the whole situation wrong. If Johnny didn’t know that the man he was pursuing was gay, then surely it couldn’t be Gunter. Could it?

“I mean, I’m _pretty_  sure he is,” Johnny continued, “but I don’t know for certain. And, well… we’ve become really good friends, and I don’t want to ruin what we’ve already got. Things… things would get awkward.”

Perhaps Gunter really was in the running, then. “I understand. And I suppose you haven’t tried broaching the subject with him, then?”

Johnny shook his head, frowning. “No… I don’t think I’m brave enough.”

“Oh Johnny, I’m sure that’s not true.”

“It is, though. If… if it was a girl, I think it’d be easier, because at least if she was gonna say no then that would be it, y’know? But because it’s another bloke…”

“You worry that if he isn’t interested in men that he would get offended and potentially threaten you?”

Johnny nodded, heaving another sigh. “I’ve never… asked a guy out. I don’t think I can, not without knowing.”

“Do you think perhaps it’s something you could figure out?” Rosita offered. “You could ask one of his friends maybe?”

“I don’t wanna make them mad either,” Johnny said simply. Admittedly, he could ask Rosita, but that would mean telling her who it was that he had feelings for. And he didn’t feel ready to do that just yet. If he ever would.

“I see.” Rosita wasn’t sure what else to say. Johnny had kept the identity of his crush vague, meaning that it would probably be a bad idea to ask. As much as she could certainly confirm that Gunter was in fact gay, that would mean letting on that she already knew who it was, which would only embarrass the poor gorilla right now. Not to mention she couldn’t guarantee that Gunter would reciprocate Johnny’s feelings. She certainly saw an attraction there, but she would have to try and do a little digging to find out if there was anything more. “I’m sorry, Johnny. I don’t really know what else to advise.”

“I know,” he sighed. “It’s mostly my fault. I know I shouldn’t be this nervous about asking, I just… am, I guess. But knowing I have someone to talk to about it helps,” he offered with a smile.

“Then I’m glad I can help, even in a small way,” she replied, smiling in return.

“I’m sorry to leave on a bit of a downer note,” he said, holding up an empty coffee mug. “But I really think I should get going.”

Rosita nodded, taking a last sip of her coffee. Johnny offered to take her mug but Rosita shook her head, instead taking his. “I’ll take care of these in a moment, you should head home. Would you like me to call you a cab?”

As tempting as that would be Johnny knew he couldn’t pay for it, and wouldn’t expect Rosita to either. “No thanks, I think I could use the walk,” he chuckled, patting his stomach.

“As long as you’re sure… just give me one minute.”

Rosita disappeared into the kitchen, replacing the mugs with a plastic container filled with casserole. She returned and handed the container to Johnny. “There, now I’ll know that you’ve been fed for at least one more day.”

Johnny grinned widely as he accepted the food. “Thanks, Rosita.” He held the container up with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a tight hug. “For everything.”

“You’re very welcome,” she said, returning the hug just as tightly. “And remember, you’re always welcome here, whenever you want.”

“I know.”

The two broke apart and, after offering Rosita a wave, Johnny opened the door to leave.

“Bye Rosita.”

“Bye Johnny.”

She followed him to the door and watched as he made his way down the stairs. She then closed the door and went to the living room window, watching as he exited the building. She continued watching until he was out of sight, feeling a slight pang of guilt that she wasn’t able to offer more helpful advice.

At least, she wasn’t able to yet. She would do her best to arm herself with better advice for next time.


End file.
